Andre Villas-Boas expects to be fired by Chelsea if he fails to engineer instant success in his first year as manager of the English Premier League club.
The 33-year-old Portuguese was hired last week as Chelsea's seventh manager in eight years under the club's trigger-happy Russian owner, Roman Abramovich, after quitting Porto following a successful season with the Europa League champions.
Rejecting the ''Special One'' tag adopted by one-time mentor Jose Mourinho in his first news conference as Chelsea manager, Villas-Boas instead styled himself as the ''Group One'' - embracing the collective as he attempts to guide the team to immediate silverware, both in England and the Champions League.
If that doesn't materialize, Villas-Boas acknowledged Wednesday that his tenure at Stamford Bridge could be brief.
''What you expect from this club is to be successful straight away,'' Villas-Boas said at his official presentation as manager. ''I will be surprised to be kept on the job if I don't win.
''The expectations of the club are at the maximum. No doubt we have a compromise with a certain amount of trophies. There's nothing that the owner told me that I didn't know, to challenge for the trophies in every area. It's pretty clear for a club of this dimension - who expects to stay as Chelsea manager if they don't win anything?''
Villas-Boas established himself as one of Europe's most highly rated coaches by winning three trophies with Porto last season, including the Portuguese league, in his one year in charge.
His contract was terminated after Porto received payment of ?15 million ($21.5 million) to trigger his release clause, turning Villas-Boas into something of a villain at the club and city where he brought so much success in the previous 12 months.
''It was a difficult separation. It's something that was felt hard in Portugal. My commitment was 100 percent to Porto and it will always be my club,'' said Villas-Boas, who revealed he received offers from other leading clubs in Europe. ''I always felt well in Porto ... but everyone feels the need for a new challenge.
''The move to Chelsea was based on a very lucrative move ... Porto was able to beat their offer. Porto made an extremely competitive offer to stay ... But this was a bigger challenge. I'm not running away from the fear of another successful year at Porto - their objective is the same as here. If you're not (successful), it's end of story.''
Villas-Boas, who said his family had been reluctant to leave Portugal, is often compared to Mourinho, a compatriot who he worked under as a scout at Chelsea from 2004-07 and then with Italian side Inter Milan.
Their opinion of themselves appears to differ, though. Villas-Boas was far too modest to repeat the ''Special One'' mantra that Mourinho famously took on during his time at Chelsea.
''The title, I will wait for you guys to give it me. I hope I am successful and you give me a good title in the end. This is not a one-man show - it's about creating empathy and raising ambitions with everyone around me. Maybe I should be the 'Group One.'''
Villas-Boas said he wouldn't necessarily make drastic changes to Chelsea's aging squad, rejecting opinions it was short of quality after failing to land a trophy last season. That led to the sacking of Italian manager Carlo Ancelotti, who won the league-FA Cup double the previous year.
''I agree that minor changes can be done and we can put some input here or there in certain sectors, but my confidence in the players is for them to return to me and judge from there,'' Villas-Boas said. ''These are players who deserve this respect for me. They have won a lot but still have hunger for success.''
Villas-Boas also hopes to have autonomy in the transfer market, something that hasn't happened at the club recently and which was a key factor behind the departure of Mourinho four years ago. Chelsea has been heavily linked with Porto stars Joao Moutinho, Hulk and Radamel Falcao, as well as Tottenham playmaker Luka Modric, as the club tries to land its first Champions League title.
''There are no players imposed on me. With the top quality you can get at this club, you can move for the best players in the world. That's what we do if we have the necessity. The main thing first is to consider and value what we have at the club,'' Villas-Boas said.
Chelsea announced Wednesday that former Italy midfielder Roberto Di Matteo will be Villas-Boas' assistant coach.
Di Matteo, who played for Chelsea from 1996 to 2002, was sacked as West Bromwich Albion manager in February and preaches the same attacking and expansive approach as Villas-Boas.
It's a good indication of the style the London club is set to adopt next season.
''We are proud defenders of the beauty of the game,'' Villas-Boas said. ''It makes no sense for us to get into a club like Chelsea and play dreadful football. This is why this technical staff was picked, based on a philosophy of playing well and as a team.''
Villas-Boas has already raided Porto to appoint Jose Mario Rocha as fitness coach and Daniel Sousa as opposition scout in the backroom staff. Steve Holland, who worked as reserve-team coach at Chelsea last season, was promoted to the senior setup.
