Interview: Jose Mourinho addresses the British media

Funny clip: Mourinho on his 'special' status

Report: Grant arrives at Stamford Bridge

By John Sinnott At Stamford Bridge

Grant has yet to sign a contract

The dawn of Avram Grant's reign as Chelsea manager could not be described as attention grabbing.

While three years ago Jose Mourinho boldly pronounced he was "The Special One", Grant, almost in a whisper, more modestly labelled himself a "A Normal Person".

It was hard not to feel a little bit sorry for Grant.

He has had precious little contact with the British media since he arrived at Chelsea and suddenly he finds himself confronted by baying reporters and a phalanx of photographers.

As flashlights popped and fizzed, Grant must have felt a bit like he was facing the Charge of the Light Brigade.

While the media were in front of Grant, to his right sat Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon, to his left was seated chairman Bruce Buck.

Grant was barely audible at times, speaking quite loudly at first only for his sentences to trail away as he mumbled and murmured

Given the way those two figures got rid of a manager that has delivered two Premier League titles and one FA Cup, what hope for Grant?

Kenyon described Grant's appointment as "permanent".

But while plenty of time has been spent up tying up the loose ends of Mourinho's lucrative compensation package, Chelsea's chiefs have yet to do anything about discussing the finer details of Grant's deal.

Grant generously insisted that this was not a problem. "I come as a club man," he said. "If that is for one day or four years that is fine by me."

At least I think that's what he said because Grant was barely audible at times, speaking quite loudly at first only for his sentences to trail away as he mumbled and murmured.

Grant was joined at his first news conference as Chelsea boss by Kenyon (left) and Buck (right)

There was a certain shyness about Grant. He rarely smiled and was happy to defer to Kenyon and Buck. Frequently he lowered his eyes to the floor.

It is hard to imagine advertisers flocking to him in the way they did to the photogenic and outspoken Mourinho.

As if to emphasise the point, Mourinho gave an impromptu media briefing later on Friday - and the contrast with Grant could not have been greater.

Whereas Grant had looked distinctly uncomfortable in front of the media, Mourinho lapped up the attention, issuing soundbite after soundbite.

"The English press, if you understand their philosophy, it was very funny to play their game," he enthused as he sat on a public bench surrounded by cameras and microphones somewhere in Chelsea Harbour.

"Salt and pepper every day."

Mourinho revelled in his game of cat and mouse with the media while he was Blues boss.

Grant, on the other hand, got off to a shaky start with reporters as he was forced to field barbed question after barbed question about his managerial know-how.

When it was put to him that his Champions League experience amounted to just six games, he was quick to highlight the fact that his coaching career that spanned 20 years.

It was only when he was quizzed on what style of football Chelsea might play under him that he moved into a more expansive mood.

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"Football is entertainment," he said. "We will try to do it and I'm sure we can do it, though we will not play all the games good."

As for Kenyon, he insisted it was "business as usual at Chelsea".

Given the manner in which he dismissed Claudio Ranieri and has just let go the club's most successful manager, you were left wondering just what Grant has let himself in for.