Grant: character has central role for Chelsea

The Israeli's appointment as Jose Mourinho's successor in September was greeted by scepticism and suggestions he was only there as a stop-gap.

Chelsea's relevance to the title race slipped amid the turmoil of the regime change and Arsenal and Manchester United were left to focus on each other.

The Premier League's top two have always mentioned the potential threat from Stamford Bridge in passing but Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas said he does not watch any other sides.

But with Chelsea now only three points behind the pair in third place, Grant believes they are becoming a force nobody can risk discounting.

He said: "Things are going pretty well and our position is three points off the top. I know that nobody believed we would be there when we took charge of the team but what is important is what we believe.

"I said from the first moment that the race hadn't finished.

"It is reasonable after we didn't play well at the beginning of the season that people put us to one side, but now we are playing better and I don't think you can ignore Chelsea now."

Chelsea have scored 12 goals in their last three matches, with the last two courtesy of Frank Lampard and Juliano Belletti in Saturday's 2-0 win at Wigan.

Grant and his coaching team of Henk ten Cate and Steve Clarke have worked hard on improving his side's attacking play and tried to make them more attractive.

Yet while there are signs this is working, Grant believes the character Chelsea have shown in recovering from the shock of Mourinho's departure has been the most impressive aspect of their comeback.

He said: "We have a very good team and if we are back in the title race from the place we were in, I don't think any other team could have done it.

"It was a very difficult situation and we showed character, good football and strength. Nobody could have come back like we did."

Chelsea go to Schalke on Tuesday with the possibility that a win will ensure qualification to the next stage of the Champions League.

Joe Cole is set to return after he was not risked at Wigan and Didier Drogba is expected to shake-off a knee doubt.

However, the striker's absence during the African Nations Cup for about six weeks in the New Year looms large over Chelsea and Grant admitted they will miss Michael Essien, Salomon Kalou and John Obi Mikel greatly too.

He said: "We have four players going to the African Nations Cup and they are very important for us. I don't understand why it is in the middle of the season but we can do nothing about it. I would prefer if it was held in the summer."