Shevchenko affected by Chelsea struggles, says Grant</p> LONDON (AFP) - Avram Grant admits Andriy Shevchenko is struggling to recover from the shock of being benched by Jose Mourinho. Shevchenko has failed to live up to his 30 million pounds price tag since his move from AC Milan last year and Mourinho quickly lost patience with the Ukraine striker. One of Grant's main roles when he joined Chelsea as director of football in pre-season was to bring the best out of Shevchenko, but Mourinho was unimpressed by his form and opted to continue leaving him out. Mourinho has since departed and Grant has taken over, but Shevchenko is still stuck on the sidelines at Stamford Bridge. The 31-year-old has been reduced to a bit part role, scoring only once this season and making occasional cameo appearances. Grant believes his nightmare spell at the club may well have taken its toll on Shevchenko's mental and physical well-being and therefore affected his performances. The Israeli denied Chelsea have appointed former British Olympic sprinter Darren Campbell to help Shevchenko regain his spark but insisted the club have been trying to help. "I prefer only to say that he was not at his best from the beginning of the year but there are many reasons for this," Grant said. "You never know if it is because of the mental side that the player doesn't look so good in the physical side, or if it has come from the physical side. Sometimes it is both. "We are talking about professional players. They need to handle everything. We try to help them if they help themselves. "We tried to help him as we try to help other players. But the players feel they need to help themselves. We have a big squad and we will need everybody, including Andriy Shevchenko." Another player who has struggled recently is Shaun Wright-Phillips and the coach insists he cannot give any guarantees about his future at Chelsea. Grant left Wright-Phillips out of his squad for the Schalke match, fuelling reports that the England winger was unhappy at Stamford Bridge. Manchester City manager Sven Goran Eriksson, whose side face Chelsea on Saturday, has made it clear he would love to bring Wright-Phillips back to Eastlands if the Blues decide to sell him. Grant acknowledges Wright-Phillips is bound to be unhappy that he is not playing but, while he has no immediate intention to sell him, there is no way he can say for certain he will get back into the team. "Sometimes during the season players are not happy if they are not playing," Grant said. "That is reasonable to me but any player at Chelsea needs to be ready. "That is why they are in the squad and why we pay them wages. It is not personal against anyone. I am thinking about the team. "I think Shaun is professional. He wants to play. He has to be ready for next game. That is what I ask of the other players. "We have 25 players in the squad, most of them are internationals and we can only play 11." Grant has been in charge for seven matches now, giving him enough time to get a feel for what needs improving in his squad. He is adamant he will only make minimal changes in the January transfer window. "I am very happy with the squad. Even if we changed it will be only five or 10 percent. Maybe we will but I'm not thinking about it at the moment. "We feel good with our squad. If we find one or two players who can make us better we will take them." Grant should have Michael Ballack back by the time the transfer window opens. The Germany midfielder has been sidelined with ankle injury but Grant expects him to be back within two months. "In one or two months he will be ready for us. It is important because he is a great player and a match winner," said Grant. "I hope everything will go well because in the past he had some problems."</p>
I just clicked on this thread then put Sky Sports News on and Avram Grant's press conference was on </p>
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (CelticKing)</div><div class='quotemain'></p> You live in the UK?</p> </div></p> yeah...</p> Anyway i think in january we should send him out on loan to Dinamo Kyiv.</p> </p>
Cool. London?</p> Wasn't there some news a couple of months ago about Kiev saying that they would pay millions for Shevchenko?</p>
I live near london... doesnt take long to get there.</p> I cant remember really, but i do remember the president saying he'd love to have shevchenko but he doesnt think he'd leave.</p>
<p align="justify"><font face="Arial" size="2">i hope he goes on loan to get his edge back but i don't think he can do that as he is so slow</font></p>
yeah i know, i feel sorry for him, its not like he doesnt try; its just the premier league is too fast for him.</p>
It is fast for him. He would have more success if he was playing all 90 minutes every game. Would get more experiense and in the process learn the game faster. But this way, coming from the bench, its not doing any good to him.</p>
I love itwhen hesaid "Money has nothing to do with my decision", after he left milan for chelsea....lol</p>
