Afternoon:
9°c
Grant yearns to be Chelsea's prize guy
Leo Spall, Evening Standard1 Feb 2008
Avram Grant admits he has allowed himself to dream about leading Chelsea to glory after his impressive start as manager. The Israeli has already guided the team to the Carling Cup Final and they are the only club still capable of achieving the Quadruple.
If they win at Portsmouth in the Premier League tomorrow they will set a new club record of 10 successive victories but Grant is looking towards bigger landmarks.
After good draws for the next round of the FA Cup and Champions League against Huddersfield and Olympiakos respectively, he said: "It is very pleasing for me that we are still in all four competitions.
"We play to be involved in everything and it is good that we are in February and still there.
"I don't know if the word is incredible but I am very happy with what we have done until now. We have done it our way - with a very big fighting spirit, always trying to play good football and to do better.
Grant's success since taking over from Jose Mourinho in September is recorded in results which match those of the Portuguese when he started at Stamford Bridge.
But it has been greeted with scepticism and continuing doubts because their personalities are so different.
Fans have been slow to warm to the manager because of his understated style but the players have thrived as he has introduced a more relaxed style.
Where Mourinho used his force of personality and demanded control, Grant has been more trusting and inspired his players with visits from inspirational figures such as Diego Maradona.
He believes his organisation and passion for the English game have helped, saying: "In my professional life, I like that everything is organised. I know what Chelsea need now, what they need next month and in the next years and we will do it.
"I always wanted to be here in England. In 1977, for the first game I saw here, I liked very much the football and the atmosphere and I think it is the best in the world." Grant goes back to Israel on Monday to start the process of acquiring his UEFA Pro License so that he will be allowed by the Premier League to remain in charge at Chelsea.
He has an A-License and 30 years' experience which has included managing his national side but he will have to travel home to complete some parts of the course.
Grant said: "What can they teach me? It's something I have to do because Israel did not belong to Europe. I will go there and they will be here. That's what I agreed with UEFA."
His next big task though will be keeping his large squad happy when everyone is fit and available. Frank Lampard is close to a return after injuring his thigh and the African Nations' Cup quartet will return in the next fortnight.
But Grant is relishing the prospect of having a full squad to choose from. He said: "When all the players are back we will be much stronger and I will have more possibilities to do things.
"When the squad is short you have less possibilities. You have to be more creative, put players in other positions, change the tactics, and small things. But we will have them all back and it will be very important."
Meanwhile, Chelsea will today drop Claudio Pizzaro and Steve Sidwell from their 23-man list of players resgistered for the Champions League in order to make way for Nicolas Anelka and Michael Ballack.
Reader views (1)
Well done Avram....you`ve got the Blues playing with freedom and confidence..but we do need to "kill off " the opposition. Can I have a free ticket now?
- Brian, london, 01/02/2008 17:12
Report abuse
