Avram: I'm in charge

Avram Grant has insisted that he is the one who is making the decisions at Chelsea and not Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich. He insisted Abramovich would not be involved in the footballing side of things.

Grant said: "I'm a person of my own. I've taken all my decisions in football on my own. If we lose, it's down to me.

"I have full respect for what Jose Mourinho did in the past and I want to follow this success and make things of my own.

"But football is also entertainment. We need to win games and win trophies but we need to play positive football."

Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck denied that Grant was given the job because he was a personal friend of Abramovich.

"Roman Abramovich doesn't make important appointments on a whim or because someone is a friend," said Buck.

"He's a very successful businessman and in conjunction with the board this was a thoughtful decision and was based on merit.

"When we offered this job to Avram on Wednesday he wanted assurances that he was his own man and he was in charge of the team.

"Myself, Peter [Kenyon], Eugene [Tenenbaum, Chelsea director] and Roman Abramovich were all in the room and we all agreed 100 percent that he is in charge."