Last update - 00:00 28/10/2007
Grant earns respite from London fans after lopsided Chelsea win
By The Associated Press
LONDON - Who needs Mourinho?
Perhaps it is too soon to expect Chelsea fans to recite that ditty, but the wounds are finally healing after Jose Mourinho's tortuous exit last month.
Saturday's 6-0 demolition of high-flying Manchester City was a giant leap for the Portuguese's unproven successor Avram Grant in exorcising the ghost of the Special One from Stamford Bridge and winning the supporters' trust.
The victory, by a greater margin than Mourinho achieved in three years at Chelsea, was Grant's third in four Premier League matches and lifts Chelsea to fourth with 21 points, just five behind leader Manchester United.
And the Israeli would have been heartened by the distinct lack of pro-Mourinho chants, although six weeks into the job his name is yet to be set to song.
"First it's not easy, you try singing my name," Grant told reporters. "I don't think any fans can like a coach after a few weeks."
Although they went into a frenzy after the Blues swept aside City thanks to two goals from Didier Drogba and strikes from Michael Essien, Joe Cole, Salomon Kalou and Andriy Shevchenko.
With Frank Lampard commanding midfield with skill and guile, Sven-Goran Eriksson's side was run ragged and capitulated in a manner belying its third-place berth.
Yet there were no frenzied Mourinho-style celebrations from Grant in the dugout following this soccer masterclass. In fact, not even a smile.
The restrained response continued despite an afternoon when even struggling striker Shevchenko netted his first league goal of the campaign in the dying seconds.
"We are in the middle of a process, we continue do it step-by-step, maybe today is two steps," the 52-year-old Grant said. "It was not easy to do it, but we are doing it. I must say that the players have a great attitude - they are the main stars here."
Despite briefly topping the table, a string of lackluster results domestically and in the Champions League conspired to end Mourinho's three-year reign.
A midweek, 2-0 victory over Schalke, Grant's second in Europe, opened up a three-point lead in Group B in the Champions League.
Crucially, Chelsea is producing the stylish soccer Russian owner Roman Abramovich expects from his investment.
"I know that we cannot do it every game through 90 minutes, but in modern football people come to have fun," Grant said. "We are concentrating on attacking football, how to move right, how to behave right, a few ideas about how to get the best out of players."
He is also learning to cope with consigning star players to the fringes of the first team.
"There are 25 players in the squad and 95 percent of them are internationals, very good players," Grant said. "We can only play with 11 players, with five substitutes ... this is the life when you are in a big team with a big squad."
For his own part, Grant is believed to be on the verge of agreeing to new terms with Abramovich, having assuming his elevated role while still contracted as director of soccer - the position he assumed in the summer.
"I need to ask my agent, but I don't have an agent," was his coy response.