Grant’s Chelsea In The Hunt

Chelsea boss Avram Grant has stated he will not give up hope of the Blues reclaiming the Premiership title this season – and rightly so, says Mike Maguire...

He's not glamourous, he's not 'The Special One', and he's never going to be as popular as Jose Mourinho. But there is a case for saying that Avram Grant is not being afforded the respect that he deserves.

At least he's not yet let this get him down. The Israeli remains confident of his team’s title chances, despite a general lack of recognition from the media and the public.

“If there is even one in the club who does not believe, he should not be in football,” said Grant.

“I am positive and very optimistic by nature, but if I was in a situation where I did not believe, I would be looking for another job.”

Tough Task

Grant had a tough task taking up the slack following the departure of the charismatic Jose Mourinho. Amid the media storm that surrounded 'The Special One's' exit, heightened by months of public speculation over the rift between he and Chelsea’s Russian owner, Roman Abramovich, the appointment of Grant was seen almost unanimously as a stopgap solution.

Chelsea’s start to the season had been poor – they were sitting well outside the top four when Grant was handed the reigns, and his first game in charge produced a 2-0 defeat at Old Trafford. The scoreless draw with Fulham the following week did little to win over the sceptical fans and press, who were baying for a big-name replacement.

Despite this, Grant maintains that the team’s spirit never wavered. “The belief was here maybe from the second week I was here,” he said. “We have shown there is a reason why we can believe in this.

“We believe, even if sometimes we lose games.”

Under The Radar

Indeed, a string of solid results soon followed, including an electrifying 6-0 demolition of then-flyers Manchester City. The good times rolled, meaning that the club’s former Director of Football remained in the hot seat at Stamford Bridge, resulting in a decidedly anti-climactic close to the Abramovich-Mourinho saga.

Since then Grant and his team have flown under the radar somewhat, while the media artillery swung north-west to hone in on the growing strain between Rafa Benitez and Liverpool’s American co-owners (sounds familiar, no?)

As Arsenal and Manchester United looked to be making it a two-horse race at the top, Chelsea settled into old habits. The more attractive, expressive style of football glimpsed early on in Grant’s reign faded away to be replaced by a Mourinhoesque grind of results that saw them embark almost unnoticed on a 16-game unbeaten run.

But the peace and quiet seems to have done them good. Now, a hard-fought win at Sunderland sees Chelsea a mere three points behind Manchester United and Arsenal, with a game in hand on the latter. A win midweek against Tottenham Hotspur would see them trailing Arsenal in goal difference alone.

Cup Woes

And yet it seems no one wants to know anything about Chelsea’s league prospects at the moment, with discussion revolving around their exit from both domestic cup competitions – in particular the shock 1-0 loss to Championship strugglers, Barnsley.

Consecutive league wins since have been brushed aside as mere formalities, with the general response to their comprehensive 6-1 route of Derby County being something along the lines of “Liverpool did it better.”

Tight Race

The resurgence of Liverpool’s form since their own shock defeat at the hands of Barnsley should serve as a warning to those doubting Chelsea’s powers to overcome the current leaders.

The Reds have won five consecutive league games since then, scoring 15 goals in the process. After looking as though they might miss out on a top-four spot altogether, they now seek to push for third, sitting only five points in arrears of Chelsea.

But while Benitez is now lapping up the praise after his own difficult spell at Anfield, Grant's quiet diligence at Stamford Bridge has gone unnoticed. Unlike Jose Mourinho, he does not crave the limelight, and this may in fact work in his favour. Things have certainly been calmer around the Bridge for the last few months, and while not all players are happy with the current arrangement, it's clear that, for the most part, Grant is on the right track.

Add to the mix that Arsenal have dropped points in their last four games while Manchester United have yet to break away, and it sets the scene for potentially a very tight race to the finish – and one for which Avram Grant’s Chelsea may just have timed their run perfectly.

And, to top it all, he has done it with an inherited team. It is very easy to tell a manager that he already has a good team and so he does not need anything more. It is just as convenient to credit Jose Mourinho for the team's continued success and blame Grant for all the failures.

But just as true is the fact that every coach wants to play 'his' way with 'his' team. Not once has Grant made an excuse. Just look at Newcastle and you will begin to appreciate how well he has done with what he found at the club.

And finally, even the biggest of Chelsea baiters have to admit that the sheer dignity with which he has handled things, despite being up against it from the very first day, is almost impossible to find amongst today's managers. All he needs, really, is a win against Arsenal on Sunday, and lo and behold, the 'dull, boring, incompetent' Avram Grant will be leading Arsene Wenger in the title race.

Anyone secure enough to actually give him some credit?

Mike Maguire