The chances of beating Chelsea in the FA Cup final are slim, but Avram Grant doesn't believe in fear in sports, says Jamie Jackson.
Back in January, Avram Grant was at a low point when he realised he had been misled, as had his Portsmouth team, about the club's ability to make signings during the transfer window.
He called together his players and offered them two choices. "The first is to give up, go to the beach," he told them. "Obviously I will not come as I'm not so skinny. But nobody will blame you for what's happened. This is not football. The second is not to give up. But to do it big time."
Grant would accept no half measures. The players took option B, found their best form in the FA Cup and knocked out Sunderland, Southampton, Birmingham and Tottenham en route to Saturday's final against Grant's old club Chelsea. "For us to come to the FA Cup final in a season like this, playing our best performance in the semi-final against Tottenham -- that is some kind of miracle."
Grant took over from Paul Hart on November 26 with Portsmouth rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table and on their third owner of the season, Ali al-Faraj, a Saudi-based businessman who would never visit Fratton Park.
At one point, they had had more owners than home wins in the League. They stayed bottom because of a nine-point deduction for going into administration and are heading into the Championship with debts of £138m.
"There were many problems off the pitch," says Grant, with a hefty degree of understatement. Salaries were unpaid for a third time in December, and a transfer embargo was imposed because money was owed to other clubs, and was only lifted days before the close of the January window.
Looking back to those desperate days, Grant says: "All the players said to me: 'Will we bring players in January?' I said: 'For sure, they (the club's executives at the time) promised.' When you wait for something that's promised you are disappointed when it doesn't come. So this was hard. I decided then only to concentrate on the football, on what I and the players could control."
Grant spent eight months in charge at Chelsea, having followed Jose Mourinho, the act no coach would choose to succeed. An indicator of the widespread derision that greeted Grant's appointment in September 2007 can be found in the front-page headline of an Israeli sports magazine. It read, in capital letters, 'What the fuck?' Grant smiles and says: "The Israelis are very nice guys, but some like to be cynical."
But Grant shows no bitterness. "I was concentrating on my job. I said in my second press conference that the target was the Champions League final and to change the club's image, because even when Chelsea achieved the title everyone said it was not with positive football. We had won nine games in a row and then we lost the Carling Cup final."
Tottenham beat Chelsea 2-1 in extra time, with a controversial penalty equaliser by Dimitar Berbatov and a winner from Jonathan Woodgate after a rare error by Petr Cech. Questions were asked about Grant's team selection.
By May 2008, Grant had lost that Carling Cup final, finished second in the Premier League and taken Chelsea to a first appearance in the Champions League final, a feat beyond even Mourinho during his three seasons at Stamford Bridge. After Chelsea's penalty shoot-out defeat by Manchester United in Moscow, Mourinho reflected on Grant's season in this newspaper and labelled him a loser. "In my philosophy it was a very bad season," Mourinho said, "because, in football, 'almost' means defeat-- and Chelsea almost won the Carling Cup, almost won the Champions League and almost won the Premier League.
"Almost is nothing. After two titles per season for the last three years (for me), there were zero titles, which, in my philosophy, means a really bad season. Maybe in the philosophy of a loser this was a great season."
Now, when speaking of his three months working with the Portuguese as Chelsea's director of football, Grant is generous regarding Mourinho the man. He is not so keen, though, on the Inter coach's style of football, though.
"Jose is a good coach, but I agree with Johan Cruyff, who said the message Mourinho brings is the wrong message. His message is only tactics, only winning. People say football is the winning. Of course, but in big teams you can decide sometimes how to win and play because you have the best players. Barcelona chose a way since Johan Cruyff came (as coach in 1988) and they never change it, the style of the team. They don't play long-ball, never. I agree.
"Jose is a good coach and his strength is to be the underdog. He is the only coach that can come with four of the best Brazilians (Julio Cesar, Lucio, Maicon, Thiago Motta), four of the best Argentinians (Javier Zanetti, Walter Samuel, Esteban Cambiasso, Diego Milito) and still be underdogs."
Grant was surprised at the culture that had enveloped Chelsea when he took over. "They had only just started to be a big club. Manchester United were champions, but I didn't see one of their players say: 'We are the champions.' But every player in Chelsea said: 'We have won two championships.' But that had been a year and a half ago."
The 55-year-old is clear that, despite his surprise appointment, every Chelsea player responded to him, bar one. "I found out after I left he behaved not as a professional and did a lot of things behind my back," Grant says with a shrug. "I won't say who. But one player thought he had so much power, maybe because they gave him the impression. He allowed himself to do things players shouldn't. But the rest were very professional and I enjoyed working with them."
Grant departed within days of the defeat in Moscow. "It was an emotional moment," he says of the penalty shoot-out. "I remember one of the Chelsea directors saying: 'You show emotion.' I said: 'For me it's a compliment, for you it's not.' Emotions are good if you don't lose your judgement. I wanted to bring more soul to the game, for players not to be like computers."
Portsmouth are 11/1 to defeat Grant's former club, which is not surprising given their abysmal form against Chelsea in seven Premier League seasons. "The chance is low, but I don't believe in fear in sports, I believe in respect. And everybody likes romance -- even my wife," Grant says, with a twinkle.
Will he be Pompey manager next season? "Let's wait and see. Football is about passion, it made me stay in January. I knew the team was relegated, there was no reason to stay."
West Ham, Celtic and others are sure to be interested. Pompey fans everywhere will hope the man they call Uncle Avram will stay on. "I cannot tell you," he says, "what a good feeling it is that people are behind you."
Back in January, Avram Grant was at a low point when he realised he had been misled, as had his Portsmouth team, about the club's ability to make signings during the transfer window.
He called together his players and offered them two choices. "The first is to give up, go to the beach," he told them. "Obviously I will not come as I'm not so skinny. But nobody will blame you for what's happened. This is not football. The second is not to give up. But to do it big time."
Grant would accept no half measures. The players took option B, found their best form in the FA Cup and knocked out Sunderland, Southampton, Birmingham and Tottenham en route to Saturday's final against Grant's old club Chelsea. "For us to come to the FA Cup final in a season like this, playing our best performance in the semi-final against Tottenham -- that is some kind of miracle."
Grant took over from Paul Hart on November 26 with Portsmouth rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table and on their third owner of the season, Ali al-Faraj, a Saudi-based businessman who would never visit Fratton Park.
At one point, they had had more owners than home wins in the League. They stayed bottom because of a nine-point deduction for going into administration and are heading into the Championship with debts of £138m.
"There were many problems off the pitch," says Grant, with a hefty degree of understatement. Salaries were unpaid for a third time in December, and a transfer embargo was imposed because money was owed to other clubs, and was only lifted days before the close of the January window.
Looking back to those desperate days, Grant says: "All the players said to me: 'Will we bring players in January?' I said: 'For sure, they (the club's executives at the time) promised.' When you wait for something that's promised you are disappointed when it doesn't come. So this was hard. I decided then only to concentrate on the football, on what I and the players could control."
Grant spent eight months in charge at Chelsea, having followed Jose Mourinho, the act no coach would choose to succeed. An indicator of the widespread derision that greeted Grant's appointment in September 2007 can be found in the front-page headline of an Israeli sports magazine. It read, in capital letters, 'What the fuck?' Grant smiles and says: "The Israelis are very nice guys, but some like to be cynical."
But Grant shows no bitterness. "I was concentrating on my job. I said in my second press conference that the target was the Champions League final and to change the club's image, because even when Chelsea achieved the title everyone said it was not with positive football. We had won nine games in a row and then we lost the Carling Cup final."
Tottenham beat Chelsea 2-1 in extra time, with a controversial penalty equaliser by Dimitar Berbatov and a winner from Jonathan Woodgate after a rare error by Petr Cech. Questions were asked about Grant's team selection.
By May 2008, Grant had lost that Carling Cup final, finished second in the Premier League and taken Chelsea to a first appearance in the Champions League final, a feat beyond even Mourinho during his three seasons at Stamford Bridge. After Chelsea's penalty shoot-out defeat by Manchester United in Moscow, Mourinho reflected on Grant's season in this newspaper and labelled him a loser. "In my philosophy it was a very bad season," Mourinho said, "because, in football, 'almost' means defeat-- and Chelsea almost won the Carling Cup, almost won the Champions League and almost won the Premier League.
"Almost is nothing. After two titles per season for the last three years (for me), there were zero titles, which, in my philosophy, means a really bad season. Maybe in the philosophy of a loser this was a great season."
Now, when speaking of his three months working with the Portuguese as Chelsea's director of football, Grant is generous regarding Mourinho the man. He is not so keen, though, on the Inter coach's style of football, though.
"Jose is a good coach, but I agree with Johan Cruyff, who said the message Mourinho brings is the wrong message. His message is only tactics, only winning. People say football is the winning. Of course, but in big teams you can decide sometimes how to win and play because you have the best players. Barcelona chose a way since Johan Cruyff came (as coach in 1988) and they never change it, the style of the team. They don't play long-ball, never. I agree.
"Jose is a good coach and his strength is to be the underdog. He is the only coach that can come with four of the best Brazilians (Julio Cesar, Lucio, Maicon, Thiago Motta), four of the best Argentinians (Javier Zanetti, Walter Samuel, Esteban Cambiasso, Diego Milito) and still be underdogs."
Grant was surprised at the culture that had enveloped Chelsea when he took over. "They had only just started to be a big club. Manchester United were champions, but I didn't see one of their players say: 'We are the champions.' But every player in Chelsea said: 'We have won two championships.' But that had been a year and a half ago."
The 55-year-old is clear that, despite his surprise appointment, every Chelsea player responded to him, bar one. "I found out after I left he behaved not as a professional and did a lot of things behind my back," Grant says with a shrug. "I won't say who. But one player thought he had so much power, maybe because they gave him the impression. He allowed himself to do things players shouldn't. But the rest were very professional and I enjoyed working with them."
Grant departed within days of the defeat in Moscow. "It was an emotional moment," he says of the penalty shoot-out. "I remember one of the Chelsea directors saying: 'You show emotion.' I said: 'For me it's a compliment, for you it's not.' Emotions are good if you don't lose your judgement. I wanted to bring more soul to the game, for players not to be like computers."
Portsmouth are 11/1 to defeat Grant's former club, which is not surprising given their abysmal form against Chelsea in seven Premier League seasons. "The chance is low, but I don't believe in fear in sports, I believe in respect. And everybody likes romance -- even my wife," Grant says, with a twinkle.
Will he be Pompey manager next season? "Let's wait and see. Football is about passion, it made me stay in January. I knew the team was relegated, there was no reason to stay."
West Ham, Celtic and others are sure to be interested. Pompey fans everywhere will hope the man they call Uncle Avram will stay on. "I cannot tell you," he says, "what a good feeling it is that people are behind you."
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