Are you Mourinho in disguise, Avram?

Even his treatment of Andriy Shevchenko is starting to echo his predecessor. Dropped for Valencia, Shevchenko was left on the bench again for this encounter and he remained there when Salomon Kalou disappeared with an injured hamstring after scoring a fabulous first-half goal.

Rather than send on Roman Abramovich's 'adopted son', Grant opted for Claudio Pizarro and turned to the troubled Ukrainian only when he then lost Florent Malouda to injury. From European Footballer of the Year to makeshift left winger. How the mighty have fallen.

For Grant, it simply proved that he is very much in charge. That he and not his Russian owner picks the team and also makes the changes.

"They pay me to be in charge," said the Israeli, who has even started to rant on the touchline in the manner of the animated Mourinho.

"I have to be in charge. I make the decisions for the present and for the future. Sheva is trying hard and I'm sure he will be good again for Chelsea."

But how does he square it with Abramovich? Shevchenko is the owner's best chum, after all.

"When I got the job at Chelsea, no one says I had to pick a friend of Peter Kenyon or a friend of Simon Greenberg (Chelsea's director of communications)," said Grant with a wry smile.

"Simon even said there was someone he wanted to play. But I'm in charge of the team and I make decisions for the good of Chelsea."

The selection of Kalou as a stand-in for the suspended Didier Drogba certainly proved a sound one.

Not only did he take his goal wonderfully well, but he was also responsible for the pass of the match.

It was a magnificent ball that squeezed between two Bolton defenders and finished at the feet of the rapidly advancing Malouda.

While Malouda squandered that opportunity, Kalou made no mistake when a long ball forward from Petr Cech was mistakenly headed on by Gavin McCann.

Kalou lifted the ball over Jussi Jaaskelainen and, with the kind of strength and athleticism one would normally associate with his countryman Drogba, shrugged off the foul challenge of Abdoulaye Meite before finishing with considerable aplomb.

If this delighted Grant, it left Sammy Lee in an even more precarious position as Bolton's beleaguered manager.

Bolton performed with spirit and forced Cech to make a couple of super saves. But Lee's side are languishing in the bottom three amid rumours of a bust-up with his first-team coach and his captain.

Gary Speed and Kevin Nolan did not even discover they had been omitted from the squad until they arrived at the Reebok Stadium at lunchtime and Speed had what was described as 'a face like thunder' afterwards.

When Lee was asked to explain his decision, his response was less than convincing. Bizarre in fact. "You don't ask me to explain myself when I pick them," said Lee with almost child-like logic. "I pick the team and I picked the team I considered best for Bolton."

Lee is a fine coach, a charming man, but never should he have been made a Premier League manager and it is unlikely to be long before his employers reach the same conclusion.

One win in 12 League games since he took charge towards the end of last season should tell them all they need to know.

Much the same was being said about Grant when he first succeeded Mourinho, but Chelsea's last two results would suggest he might yet have a chance.

With Frank Lampard back from injury and Drogba and John Obi Mikel soon back from suspension, the team is beginning to gain some momentum.

This was an important victory for them at the ground where they secured the first of their two championship titles under Mourinho - and not just because Kalou's 41st-minute strike was their first in 460 minutes of Premier League football.

It was proof, once again, that they can grind out results. That they can snatch a lead and hang on. That, in players like the outstanding Ricardo Carvalho, they still have the quality to close the sevenpointgap which exists between them and Arsenal.

As Grant insisted, it will be a while before we see the 'football with style' he has promised. "It will take time," he said.

"Sometimes you just need the points. Sometimes you just need to score a goal. Especially when you play away from home. The target was taking three points and we got what we wanted."

He also felt the pressure lift a little more off his shoulders. "I don't want to live in football without the pressure," he said.

"I have always had pressure in my career and it is a pressure I put on myself. This job is a big responsibility but I like it.

"The game is about pressure. It is not a game for weakness."

As Lee, rather than Grant, is probably about to find out.

Bolton (4-4-2): Jaaskelainen 7; J O'Brien 6 (Stelios 85min), A O'Brien 6, Meite 5, Gardner 6; McCann 5, Campo 6, Guthrie 7, Diouf 6 (Wilhelmsson 67, 6); Davies 7, Anelka 6. Booked: Diouf, Campo, Davies, Jaaskelainen.

Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech 7; Belletti 6, Carvalho 8, Terry 6, A Cole 6; Sidwell 6, Makelele 6, Lampard 6; Malouda 6 (Shevchenko 74, 5), Kalou 8 (Pizarro 46, 6), J Cole 6 (Ferreira 84). Booked: Carvalho. Man of the match: Salomon Kalou.

Referee: Alan Wiley.