AVB respectful of Anzhi

03 October 2013 09:46

Anzhi Makhachkala have failed to win since their summer fire sale, but Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas will not allow his side to take their hosts lightly.

After spending millions of pounds bringing in the likes of Samuel Eto'o, Willian and Christopher Samba, Anzhi's billionaire owner Suleyman Kerimov suddenly and significantly withdrew his backing less than two months ago.

It saw Anzhi's £116million budget reduced to as low as a reported £32million, leading to the sale of their star players and the sacking of coach Rene Meulensteen after only 16 days at the helm.

It means just months after aiming for domestic and continental success, they head into the clash with Spurs bottom of the Russian Premier League and without a win this season.

"They are radically different from what Anzhi built in these past years," Villas-Boas said.

"The changes are so radical and dramatic that you find it hard to recognise the team and the project they set out to do in the beginning.

"It looks apparent that staying in the league has become their priority.

"They've got one point out of the game against Sheriff so it's going to be a difficult game with difficult conditions.

"We don't want to come here and play with the competition - we want to be serious about the project in that way."

The Group K tie comes on the back of a controversial 1-1 draw with Chelsea on Saturday.

Source: PA