Avram Grant is a former Israel coachMourinho 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."
