From the Special One to the Cunning One

As Grant sat at the top table on his unveiling last Friday, flanked by chief executive Peter Kenyon and chairman Bruce Buck, he had the look of a man stunned by the situation he had found himself in.

No wonder, what with suddenly being given the task of replacing the most successful and popular manager in the club's history.

His persona was instantly ridiculed and seen as evidence, along with his meagre managerial record - and lack of UEFA pro licence - that the club had made a horrendous mistake.

A 2-0 defeat by defending champions Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday ensured he didn't get off to the best of starts, even though referee Mike Dean's performance didn't help matters.

But yesterday, as he faced the press for only his second pre-match conference to talk about tonight's third-round Carling Cup tie against Hull, he demonstrated a cunning that was in stark contrast to his predecessor.

Jose Mourinho was openly confrontational and never shied away from the bold statements but Grant, who spent three years in the Israeli secret service, has a more stealth-like approach and still gets his point across.

While never openly critical of Mourinho's era, he mentioned the need for 'style' on six different occasions, in the same way a politician would use a key phrase in a speech.

But he also made sure that he didn't make his job harder than it already is by taking the bait and talking about 'untouchables', like Mourinho did last year, in his squad.

Grant said: "Untouchable? It's a movie, no? A good one, by the way. I know why you ask me this question, but there are many coaches, players and even journalists who don't look the same. Jose had his style and I have mine and I will take care of any problems there might be.

"I was here 10-11 years ago when Arsene Wenger came, so the negative reaction I have had hasn't surprised me. Someone told me that it is part of the traditional welcome of the English to a new coach.

"I can't say I'm enjoying being in the spotlight or not, I just have to do my job.

I would prefer to be on the pitch to train my players. I'm not naive, I know it is not the best time to take over the team. There is no time for preparation and for me to put my style on the team. But I believe in the players and I believe in this club."

The interest in his private life, while clearly never going to come close to that of the 'Special One', has increased, particularly as he is married to Tzofit, who is an actress and TV personality back in Israel.

There has already been talk of how she drunk urine and bathed in a tub of chocolate on a chat show she hosted, but Grant isn't afraid of taking the mickey himself.

He said: "My wife is my wife. She has her own personality and is a celebrity in Israel. She has a very good TV show, you can watch, I will give it to you.

"You can say this is my biggest challenge or maybe it isn't. Every job is a challenge. We have the quality but we haven't shown it so far.

"When you are Chelsea it doesn't matter if it is Barcelona or Hull, we have to win, whether I am the coach or Simon Greenberg [Chelsea's director of communications] is the coach!"

Grant did score one own goal by confusing Hull's Bryan Hughes with that of former Manchester United and Chelsea striker Mark, but he was a more relaxed figure than that of a few days ago. Of course, he is fully aware of the importance of a victory at Hull as part of his bid to turn results and confidence around.

There has already been some suggestions that former Dutch striker Marco Van Basten - who watched Sunday's game at Old Trafford sat behind Roman Abramovich - has been lined up to take his job and that the players were not happy with the travel arrangements for tonight's Carling Cup game after Grant asked them to fly today.

He said: "It will be very difficult because we are playing away and Hull will give all they can. I remember the semi-final against Wycombe last season and we drew in the first leg.

"The club can still win all the titles. We are three points from Manchester United, five points from Arsenal. Last season when Chelsea cut United's lead from 12 points to nine everyone was saying they were going to do the business.

"The problem is not the points, we want to play and win games. Everything can happen."