Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas has wasted no time in stamping his personality on English football after lambasting the weekend performance of the officials in the Blues’ 3-1 defeat at Old Trafford.

The Portuguese manager has even taken the unusual step of complaining to referees chief Mike Riley about Phil Dowd and his assistants after replays suggested Manchester United’s first two goals were both scored by players who had been in offside positions.

Villas-Boas told the BBC: “I’m very unhappy with a poor display from the referees that had a decisive role in the result. I don’t take it very lightly. You expect the linesman to do his job.

“I already went further ahead with the situation by speaking to the correct people. We all feel very, very down when the referee has such an impact on the result.”

It was not a good day at the office for Villas-Boas with the defeat to a major title rival also being the first time a team under his management have been beaten in a league match for 17 months, continued over from his days at Porto.

And with Fernando Torres’ form continuing to bemuse and frustrate – he missed a clear open goal as well as finding the net for only the second time in his Blues career – the Chelsea chief will be hoping for a strong response when they take on Premier League new-boys Swansea at Stamford Bridge this weekend.

But what has come as a surprise is Villas-Boas’ stern exterior shining through so early in his Chelsea reign – after all, he gave a warning to match officials after his very first Premier League match as boss back in August.

The 33-year-old was not happy with the amount of “pushing and shoving” on show in their opener at Stoke City and told referees up and down the country to watch out.

“We had to deal with Stoke’s set-plays and were competent enough to avoid the dangers they create.

“But there’s a limit to the pushing and grabbing that can make it impossible. Referees have to pay attention to these kind of details. We have a referee visit this Wednesday, so maybe I’ll have more points to discuss.”

While we may not quite have another Jose Mourinho on our hands in terms of controversy and press conference entertainment, one thing is for sure, Villas-Boas will not be taking any prisoners – referees or otherwise.