Neil Warnock: It is his first sticky patch. Chelsea must stick with him

What I Learnt This Week

Andre Villas-Boas will learn more about himself – and management – during this spell than at any time in his career (AFP/Getty)

In years to come Andre Villas-Boas will look back on these weeks more than any others in his career because now he is really learning about himself.

If there is one problem with having had such a brilliant start in management, it's that now he has hit a sticky patch he doesn't have the experience of previous periods like this to draw upon. Most managers do. They can look back at the decisions they made then, and remember what worked and what didn't.

Andre's had some cruel setbacks, like the last-minute defeat against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, but I have no doubt he'll overcome this and become a top manager, which is why I expect Chelsea to stick with their manager this time, no matter how bad it gets. Appointing him showed the way they want to go.

If Chelsea and their fans want reminding how quickly things can turn around they only have to look at Arsenal. How long is it since Arsenal fans were clogging the radio phone-ins, and were on every website, commenting that Arsène had lost his way? Now they are the first English team through to the knockout stages of the Champions League, and it was not an easy group by any means. The only team with a tougher one was Man City and I hope everyone in the country wants them to get the result they need against Bayern, because it is good for England to have clubs in the knockout stages.

2. We overcame mystery of the missing towels

We got an excellent result at Stoke last week, it has got to be one of the most difficult places in the country to come away from with three points. I know the TV replays showed we were fortunate not to get a late penalty against us, but what TV didn't show was Clint Hill being blocked off deliberately for their second goal. Looking at Heidar Helguson's face when he came off, with a bruise down one side, and a lump the size of a golf ball under one of his eyes, I thought to myself, 'This is a fantastic result'. You do know you've been in a game at the Britannia.

There was one light-hearted moment. The ballboys have towels for Rory Delap to wipe the ball before his long throws. That's perfectly legal as long as both teams are allowed to use them, and we did in the first half. In the second half the ballboys didn't have towels any more. Then, near the end, as Stoke chased an equaliser, one of their staff gave Delap a towel as he prepared to take a throw. The ref spotted it, raced over, and said 'No, you can't use it'. It was like something from a Brian Rix farce.

Today we're off to another ground with a great atmosphere. Paul Lambert has done a fantastic job at Norwich and I'm looking forward to seeing Delia Smith again. They have started off really well, but like us and Swansea, they will not be getting carried away. Someone told me last week that only once before have all three promoted teams stayed up in the Premier League. I answered, "make no mistake, no matter how many points we have, Paul, Brendan Rodgers and me will be looking at the bottom three". Every point is so precious in this league.

3. Players responsible for rugby failure

It did make me smile when I saw one of England's rugby players say the management was terrible at the World Cup. Players blame everybody but themselves all the time. I didn't smile when I read the bit about the training culture not being good, and senior pros setting the wrong example. That is so important. One of the big things I noticed this season when our new signings arrived was the way they demanded team-mates stepped it up in training. Everyone took it on board and it's been fantastic for us.

If you have senior players who don't want to train you have problems. We've all experienced it as players. I can remember as a young lad running around like a silly so-and-so at one club and saying something to one of the older boys who wasn't getting much of a sweat on. He replied: "How many caps have you got?" You need the right training culture. Look at the top clubs, like Manchester United. Players like Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville are all excellent pros who wouldn't let standards drop on the training ground. I know it helps if you win every week, but that's a reason why they win.

4. We won't be seeing Beckham at the Loft

I was so pleased to see David Beckham win the championship in America with LA Galaxy. Wherever he goes he has people in the media who think he is doing it just for the pounds, shillings and pence, but he is just a fantastic footballer. No matter how much money he gets, wherever he has been he gives everything for the cause. I remember all the innuendo when he went to the States; that he was only there for a year, that he was only going for the money, but he has seen out his contract and if you ask people who have been watching him these last few years he has been a big part of the league's growth. It was great to see him celebrating with his team-mates. What a great way to finish his career there. Now people say Paris beckons. Why not? It is a beautiful city with good fashion for Victoria, another language for the children to learn, and only an hour from London. It's got all the ingredients. I hope he doesn't come back to the Premier League, he has nothing to prove here. I know there was talk about him coming to Loftus Road earlier in the season but that was never a possibility, I don't think the Westfield Shopping Centre quite has the lure of the Champs-Élysées.

5. Media intrusion bad, but not all hacks are...

I did think, watching the Leveson Inquiry into how the media behaves, why would the Beckhams want to come back? It has been shocking, listening to some of the stories. It has been disturbing listening to what J K Rowling, Sienna Miller and other celebrities have to put up with, but then you hear what the intrusion into the lives of the McCanns and the Dowlers has been like, people who've been through enormous sadness. I don't think anyone who's not been in their position can appreciate how awful that must have been. As I've said before, there are certain tabloids who don't let the facts get in the way of a good story. I can think of several occasions when I've read something about myself and thought 'that is libellous'. Then I've spoken to a mate who's a solicitor who said: "It'll cost you too much, don't bother." You just have to put up with it, but it's not right. However, I must add there are some excellent journalists about.

6. Dr Will should have me ready for Canaries

Sharon took Amy and her friend to watch Example (below). I'm sure all my readers will be aware of this group, but just in case you are not, I'm told they're a rapper group. The girls had a great night. Sharon also had a couple of nights away and I realised once more that being a football manager is nowhere near as stressful as trying to run a house. To make things worse I went down with man-flu, so bad I had to take to my bed with my 10-year-old looking after me. Thank goodness he didn't have any homework, that would have tipped me over the edge. I even missed training for the first time in ages. When I woke on Thursday I realised stopping in bed all day was the only option. We all take our health for granted, but there's a lot to be said for living each day as it comes.

7. Being caught short wasn't such a Big Issue

I was in London for a meeting and saw someone selling The Big Issue, with Joey Barton on the cover. He'd done an interview. I went over to the lad and fished in my pocket for some change, and discovered I didn't have any money on me. After a while, the lad, who was a Scouser, said to me: "It's all right, you can have it for nothing. You obviously need it more than me."