Chelsea have revolutionised their efforts to get the best out of £31m striker Andrei Shevchenko by employing the former British Olympic sprinter Darren Campbell to help the Ukrainian regain his explosive pace.
The job of rehabilitating a player whose reputation has nosedived since he came to Chelsea falls to Campbell, 34, who is well-known as a lifelong Manchester United fan as well as a decent former amateur footballer.
His qualities as a sprint coach are not in doubt. He was twice an Olympic medallist, winning the silver in the 200 metres in Sydney in 2000 and a gold in the 4x100m relay team in Athens four years later.
He has worked with Shevchenko at both the club's training ground and the striker's home in Surrey.
The sessions began in the last few weeks of Jose Mourinho's reign and Shevchenko is believed to be already seeing a difference in his pace and sharpness. When he joined the club in the summer of 2006, Shevchenko brought a personal trainer with him from Italy although he has since returned. The player himself is understood to be enthusiastic about the new approach and has got on well with Campbell.
Their focus has been on the short bursts of pace which were the hallmark of Shevchenko's successful seven years at Milan. The coaching with Campbell has been in addition to the work that Shevchenko does with the rest of the first-team squad.
The use of Campbell was never really approved by Mourinho but his subsequent introduction after the departure of the Portuguese manager shows that Grant is willing to try new ideas and practices.
