Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas has admitted that his side were second best as they fell to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of West Bromwich Albion.

Villas-Boas faced renewed questions over his future after the defeat but offered no excuses for his side's performance.

"Full credit to West Brom for their magnificent game, but we weren't good enough on the day," said the Portuguese manager. "They won every first ball and every second ball and were far, far superior than us. It was a big disappointment that we didn't build on the win against Bolton and we didn't benefit from this weekend's fixtures.

"It was a poor, poor display. We had an edge after 10 minutes when we had a couple of chances, and one goal earlier than them would have given us extra motivation and drive. But to be fair we deserved to lose because West Brom also had their fair share of chances and were superior.

"They created lots of problems, had a good intensity in their game and we weren't good enough. It's a big, big disappointment."

The result leaves Chelsea fifth in the Premier League, three points behind fourth place Arsenal.