Chelsea manager Avram Grant launched an attack on the British media on Friday, slamming reports of discontent and that he is a puppet of owner Roman Abramovich.
Grant criticized the way the media had treated Chelsea after their Carling Cup final defeat by Tottenham Hotspur last weekend and said they had "taken it too far."
"I respect the media in England - even though you gave me no credit at the beginning, but since then I've heard a lot of lies," Grant said. "You're trying to hurt the team, hurt the club because we lost one game."
Chelsea sit third in the English Premier League table, nine points behind leaders Arsenal with a game in hand, and they are still going strong in the Champions League and FA Cup.
Reports of discontent among some of their senior players continue to come out of Stamford Bridge, but Grant called for some respect.
Not Roman's lackie
"Roman Abramovich has never told me one player that he needs to play, never told me to pick the team this way or that," he said. "I'm in charge. Please, you need to respect my professionalism."
"You didn't behave too nicely. Now I don't respect you too much because we lost one game and you've taken it too far. I don't like it."
"You hurt my players, you hurt the club and this is not the right way."
Grant confirmed that Chelsea captain John Terry, who earlier on Friday said he wanted to stay at the club for the rest of his career, was involved in a spat with first-team coach Henk ten Cate just before the final against Tottenham. But Grant said the two patched up their differences and that arguments were part of soccer.
"No team in the world is without fighting," he said. "Sometimes it happens. Everything was okay a minute later. They shook hands, hugged."
Since taking over from Jose Mourinho in September, Grant's side has lost just three times in 35 matches.
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