Grant confirms Ten Cate is coaching candidate for Chelsea

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  1. CelticKing

    CelticKing The Green Monster

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    Grant confirms Ten Cate is coaching candidate for Chelsea</p>

    LONDON (AFP) - Avram Grant has admitted Ajax manager Henk Ten Cate is high on his list of candidates to fill one of two vacancies on the Chelsea coaching staff.

    Grant wants to hire a top European coach as well as one from Britain as he overhauls the Premier League club's backroom staff and he insisted the prospective appointments were no threat to his position.

    Chelsea lost four coaches as Jose Mourinho's assistants quit Stamford Bridge along with the Portuguese boss last month and the Blues have held talks with Ten Cate.

    The Dutch coach's agent had claimed an agreement had been struck for him to join Chelsea, but Ten Cate refuses to confirm he will leave the Amsterdam Arena.

    Grant conceded that Ten Cate's record at Barcelona made him a strong candidate, but he was adamant the search was not over and would not confirm a deal.

    "It is not a secret," Grant said. I made it clear in the past that we have lost four people from the last staff and we are looking for replacements. There are many possibilities.

    "Henk has a good record as an assistant at Barcelona and I'm still looking for an assistant.

    "We are checking the possibilites and I can't say more because we are still checking. I am checking them personally.

    "I'm looking for one who is English and we are still looking for another assistant from Europe, one of the names is who you said."

    Grant revealed that, in contrast to Mourinho, he takes a more hands-off approach at training, so he wants two coaches to help take the sessions.

    "We are in a different way of training," he said.

    "I am the manager and the coaches do the training."

    Grant will wait until the last minute before deciding whether to select Frank Lampard at Bolton on Sunday as the midfielder steps up his recovery from a thigh injury.

    Lampard has been sidelined since August but was named in England's squad for their forthcoming Euro 2008 qualifiers and should play some part at the Reebok Stadium.

    Grant said: "Frank has trained very hard in last weeks. We will see tomorrow but he looks good.

    "Frank is an important player for us. It is not just goals. He does other things as well. I will be happy when he is fit.

    "If he is not fit for Sunday we will see what happens with England. It will depend on his condition."

    John Terry's refusal to let a fractured cheekbone keep him out of action paid dividends for Grant as he helped inspire an impressive Champions League win at Valencia in midweek despite having to play in a protective mask

    Grant confirmed Terry will continue wearing the mask.

    "We don't know how long he will have to wear the mask but he felt good with it," he said. "It was better than we thought, he played well and headed the ball many times."</p>
     

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