Chelsea facing player mutiny: Essien and Ballack may be on their way

While Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is fully aware of the rebellious mood in his club, he is adamant that he will stick by Grant.

The Israeli's hopes of landing the Premier League title were lifted yesterday when Manchester United dropped points in a 1-1 draw at Blackburn, Carlos Tevez heading United's late equaliser.

Now a Chelsea win over Liverpool in the Champions League semi-final, the first leg of which is at Anfield on Tuesday, followed by victory in the final in Abramovich's home city of Moscow would make Grant bulletproof in the eyes of the billionaire, whose priority is European glory.

If that happens and Abramovich retains Grant in his current role, key players such as Real Madrid target Michael Essien are likely to join Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard on the list of those heading for the exit this summer, while the discontent among those who stay will deepen.

Some agents have suggested that their clients will seek a move if Grant, and his similarly unpopular assistant Henk ten Cate, stay in charge. A well-placed source said: 'The players are just not having Grant, and the same goes for some of the staff.'

But Abramovich is determined to assert his authority and takes the attitude that if players can find a club willing to pay them the same £100,000-plus per week salaries they enjoy at Stamford Bridge, they are welcome to leave.

Real Madrid have stepped up their interest in Essien and sporting director Predrag Mijatovic attended Chelsea's Champions League win over Fenerbahce earlier this month, a visit which is believed to have included a meeting with Stamford Bridge chief executive Peter Kenyon and talks with Essien's agent.

Real may offer Brazil star Robinho and Dutch winger Royston Drenthe to reduce the £30million it would cost to secure Essien.

Both players were Chelsea targets, while the Spanish leaders' interest in Essien has sparked renewed reports that Jose Mourinho, a great admirer of the Ghana utility player, is bound for the Bernabeu. Michael Ballack is also believed to be considering his position and although Tal Ben Haim is the only Chelsea player so far to go public with his displeasure at working under Grant, many in the squad are still unconvinced of the Israeli's manager's abilities.

Senior players came away from the post-mortem of the 4-4 draw at Spurs, when he was criticised for tactics and substitutions, convinced that his reign would not extend beyond this season.

Since then, Chelsea have sent out mixed messages. At the Soccerex London Forum earlier this month, Kenyon repeated his assertion that Grant had a four-year contract and the job was not dependent on him winning the Premier League or Champions League, although he did acknowledge that they had not yet delivered the entertaining football demanded by Abramovich.

The following day, chairman Bruce Buck refused to give a 'yes-or-no' answer when asked at a fans' forum whether Grant would remain, adding that a manager's job security always depended on results.

Chelsea were booed off the pitch after Monday's 1-1 home draw with Wigan, and Grant's bizarre post-match performance despite victory at Everton suggested he was feeling the pressure.

Some remain convinced Grant will be pushed upstairs into a director of football-style role whatever happens this season, with a number of high-profile coaches, including Frank Rijkaard, Guus Hiddink and Michael Laudrup, in the running to take over.

Another candidate could be Sven Goran Eriksson, whose position at Manchester City may be insecure after a disappointing second half of the season. The former England coach advised Abramovich after his 2003 takeover at Stamford Bridge and was embarrassingly caught at Kenyon's house in March 2004, as Chelsea prepared to replace Claudio Ranieri.

It was a Champions League semifinal that effectively ended Ranieri's tenure when they lost to Monaco.

Grant remains outwardly confident of not going the same way and of succeeding where Mourinho twice failed — by overcoming Liverpool in the last four. Although most people, including Liverpool counterpart Rafa Benitez, have seen little evidence of Chelsea playing more expansively under Grant, the Israeli says he will give his team the licence to express themselves which Mourinho denied them in 2005 and 2007.

Grant said: 'The last semi-finals against Liverpool were too tactical. I think football needs to be tactical, but not too tactical. You need the freedom to play.We need the next step at Chelsea, to give players the freedom to think. I am trying to give them the freedom to think with responsibility. I have a good feeling about it.'

But even in victory, the feelgood factor at Chelsea is unlikely to last if Grant remains in charge.