Grant puts style ahead of silverware
Chelsea coach Avram Grant points readily, with a mixture of pride and self defence, to his pedigree of winning trophies but he insists silverware is not important in his first season in charge.
Grant, who lifted the Israeli title in his last match as boss of Maccabi Haifa, knows victory against managerless Championship strugglers Leicester at Stamford Bridge tonight will take the holders into the last eight of the Carling Cup.
Pointing the way: Avram Grant
Despite that, he will not allow a quest for glory to distract from his long-term plan to develop a stylish new Chelsea.
Grant said: "We are trying to win every game but at this time, when we are trying to build something, it's more important how we play than to win games."
The Chelsea boss appears sensitive to the idea that many people in English football continue to doubt his ability.
He won four Israeli titles and asked yesterday when he last won a trophy Grant quickly replied: "I won a trophy in my last game as a club manager, I won the title twice in my last two years before taking over the national team.
"You cannot do more than that. And with the national team, I did not lose a game in the World Cup qualifying."
His paranoia may stem from the fact that rival managers continue to covet his job.
The agent of Villarreal boss Manuel Pellegrini, currently in negotiations over new contract with the Spanish club, has claimed Chelsea have approached him about moving his client to London next season.
Grant will make changes for the Carling Cup and, after dropping Shaun Wright-Phillips and Florent Malouda on Saturday, reminded his players he does not believe in a culture of 'Untouchables'.
He said: "The only 'Untouchables' I know are in the movie. That was a great, great movie. I saw it three times. But why do we have a big squad? To use it. Not just to say we have a big squad."
Chelsea and Celtic are expected to be voted into a new grouping of elite European clubs next month.
The 18 current members of the G-14 will attend the meeting in Brussels on November 13-14, along with 22 other teams who were recently invited to join.
