'Mister normal' eyes success

Grant was unveiled as first-team coach at Stamford Bridge on Friday evening, taking over from Jose Mourinho following the shock events at the club this week, but he made a less dramatic immediate impact than his predecessor.

While Mourinho famously called himself "special", Grant said: "I am a normal person. I have my own philosophy. I respect everything that was here in the past and I'm sure what I do in the future will be respected."

He added: "I fully respect Jose Mourinho. In the two months we worked together I enjoyed working with him. I respect everything he did for the club. In the three years here he had a lot of success. I want to follow that success and make things of my own."

Grant could not have asked for a tougher start, with Manchester United on Sunday his first game and Yom Kippur, the Jewish holiday, meaning he will not be working with his squad the day before the match.

Mourinho's close relationship with his players has led to suggestions Grant will have to win over the squad as he moves up from his role as director of football at the club.

"I would be more disappointed if the players did not have a good relationship with Jose," Grant said. "He was the coach for three and a half years and won games and trophies. I need to look at the future, the near future especially. I think we will have a good relationship with the players and continue what we started in the last two days."

Despite reports of player unrest after Mourinho's departure, chief executive Peter Kenyon stated that the squad were supportive after a turbulent few days.

"At the training ground it was business as usual," Kenyon said. "It was Avram trying to prepare the team. As professionals they all want to turn their attention to the Manchester United game.

"After our initial meeting with the players there was a meeting with the team on their own and unanimously they came out in full support of the changes that have been made. They want us to support them in getting back to football."