Avram Grant has opened up about his part in Jose Mourinho's departure from Chelsea in 2007, claiming the Portuguese coach was not the 'genius' the media portrayed. Grant replaced Mourinho after the latter was sacked by owner Roman Abramovich in September 2007.
Grant, who was dismissed at the end of the 2007-08 season after finishing second in the League Cup, Premier League and Champions League, said he was annoyed at Mourinho being called 'The Special One'. 'With a lot of respect to Jose, I didn't like that the media said he was the king of the world and a genius,' Grant told MailOnline. 'He was not, and he's not so useless like they are saying about him now. He's a good coach, with problems like any other person.'
Grant also criticised Chelsea's lack of identity, pointing to 11 managerial changes since his departure. 'I think the problem is that Chelsea don't have an identity of how they play,' he said. 'Arsenal have, Pep Guardiola has, they don't. They want to buy players and win titles but they cannot have an identity because they change coach every year or two years.'
However, Grant praised the club's director of football, Michael Emenalo, for building a balanced squad. 'If you see Manchester City they have very good players but the defence, with all respect, is not at the level. Liverpool are the same. I think we need to give credit to the director of football there, he's doing a good job.'
