Avram Grant is a former Israel
coach
Mourinho delivers first shots at Grant
in power struggle
Jose Mourinho yesterday broke his silence on the man whose
appointment at Chelsea he opposed for so long but he warned Avram
Grant that the new director of football would not be permitted to
encroach on his power at the club. It was not exactly the warmest
of welcomes for the Israeli but at least he will know exactly where
he stands.
Grant has already taken up his place on the touchline for the
twice-a-day training sessions at the University of California Los
Angeles campus, but it would appear that will be as close as he
gets to the action. The 51-year-old had been waiting to join
Chelsea for more than a year until Peter Kenyon finally appointed
him last month. A confidante of Roman Abramovich, it seems he will
remain an outsider in the camp for some time yet.
Yesterday Mourinho declined to discuss any details of Grant's track
record or even his qualities as a coach. Instead he tersely
referred questions to the brief statement about Grant posted on
Chelsea's website and - unlike in the cases of his new signings
Steven Sidwell and Tal Ben Haim - refused to lavish a single
syllable of praise on the new man on the coaching staff.
It was a classic Mourinho slight - one delivered to let Grant know
exactly how he felt without saying so explicitly. The Israeli has
resolved to keep a low profile but it seems inevitable that he and
Mourinho will clash at some point and how that is resolved will
surely be the defining moment for Chelsea's future.
"It's not my job to speak about him or about what he has to do at
the club," Mourinho said. "The club statement was clear. He's here
to try to give some support to different areas in the club and, for
me, that's not a problem. If the club wants to bring people in to
make the club better, to create a job for someone, to give support
to different areas of the club, that's no problem. From my point of
view, it won't interfere with the power I have in relation to my
job. I welcome him, I'll try to help him adapt to a club like
Chelsea."
Grant's job will be to act as a liaison between Mourinho and
Abramovich, although given the difficult relationship between those
two men he will be regarded as a spy by the Chelsea manager. It
will not make the atmosphere around the first-team squad any more
comfortable.
At the first training session it was Mourinho's Portuguese cabal of
Baltemar Brito, Rui Faria and Silvinho Louro - as well as Steve
Clarke and Mick McGiven - who helped with the exercises. Grant
watched from the sidelines. A further worry for Mourinho is the
fitness of Wayne Bridge who is facing another period on the
sidelines after aggravating an injury to his hip that he suffered
playing for England against Estonia last month. Bridge missed some
of last season with an ankle injury and this latest blow leaves
Mourinho temporarily without a fit first choice left-back.
Ashley Cole could yet be fit to play at the start of the season
after having an operation on an ankle after the FA Cup final in
May. "We believe he can start working with the team in the United
States, perhaps in the middle of the second week," Mourinho said.
"We hope Ashley is more than ready to play the friendly matches in
Europe [after the current tour]. Bridge has a problem since his
last game with the national team. He's in the medical department's
hands and we'll have to make a decision on his future."
