“He has got one more year left at Barcelona after this. In the past he has said that Chelsea is a big club so, of course, he would be interested if the job became available.”Chelsea’s uncharacteristically downbeat display against Tottenham Hotspur in the Carling Cup final has served to undermine Grant’s credentials despite his impressive record since succeeding Jose Mourinho in September.Concern has been expressed privately within the club’s hierarchy, and among senior players, at the Israeli’s apparent inability to stamp his authority on his side, or inspire from the bench, during key contests such as Sunday’s defeat at Wembley and the league defeats to Arsenal and Manchester United.The manager retains the backing of the owner, Roman Abramovich, but there is an acceptance within the club that the Israeli must glean silverware this season in order to justify his appointment. Rijkaard’s potential availability - with Mourinho a strong favourite to succeed him at Camp Nou - will be unnerving for Grant given that the Dutch coach, a Champions League winner two years ago, is highly regarded at Stamford Bridge for the attacking style Baré° have played under his stewardship.The 45-year-old Dutchman, whose team drew 1-1 at home to Valencia in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final last night, has not spent time out of football since a brief hiatus in his career between leaving Sparta Rotterdam and joining Baré° in 2003, and the stresses and strains of his current role have taken their toll in the years since then.Although Rijkaard remains acutely aware that there is currently no position at Chelsea to discuss - Grant signed a four-year contract in December - he could be persuaded to shelve his plans to take a break should the Chelsea managerial role become available. Indeed, he worked closely with Henk ten Cate, currently coaching at the Premier League club, at Barcelona and would welcome the opportunity to team up with his compatriot again. Such manoeuvrings will be disconcerting for Grant, whose record of three defeats in 35 games is, on the face of it, impressive.John Terry took the Chelsea squad and backroom staff paintballing yesterday as part of a pre-arranged bonding exercise as they attempt to shake themselves out of the malaise caused by the defeat to Spurs but, as usual, the coaching staff did not attend. Instead Grant, the assistant manager, Steve Clarke, and Ten Cate - who clashed with Terry after training on the day before the Carling Cup final - were left to contemplate Saturday’s crucial visit to West Ham.The manager accepts he made mistakes in his tactics and team selection for the final and will have to work on improving relations with the likes of Andriy Shevchenko, Michael Ballack and Ashley Cole, who were omitted from his squad. Joe Cole would not have been happy to be on the bench for so long either.Abramovich has been a regular at the club’s training base in recent days, mixing with the players in a public show of support for the manager he appointed in the autumn. The Russian has been patient in the past, most notably in allowing Claudio Ranieri a season to prove his credentials, but he will be far from happy if this campaign ends trophy-less.As it is, Grant retains realistic hopes of achieving success in the Champions League, FA Cup and even the Premier League this term and expects to be given time to shape the squad into something more of his own in the summer.
Tags:
appointment,
ashley cole,
cate,
champion,
champions league,
chelsea,
dutchman,
ford,
henk,
job,
john terry,
manchester united,
old dutchman,
premier league,
roman abramovich,
rotterdam,
steve clarke,
ten cate
Related posts
