Portsmouth problems keeps Avram Grant busy as former Chelsea boss goes back to Stamford Bridge

14 December 2009 17:51
Testing times: Pompey manager Grant[LNB]Avram Grant is too worried about Portsmouth's plight to be sidetracked by his return to Chelsea this week. [LNB]The former Blues manager returns to Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night with his Pompey side still rooted to the foot of the Barclays Premier League and with financial concerns still looming over Fratton Park. [LNB]Grant, who last took charge of Chelsea when they lost the 2008 Champions League final to Manchester United, has no idea what reception awaits him from the Blues faithful. [LNB]And he is under no illusion of the task facing his side against the current Premier League leaders, despite a spirited fightback at Sunderland at the weekend, and Younes Kaboul's last-gasp equaliser which won Pompey a valuable point. [LNB]Former Israel coach Grant has no time to dwell on his personal feelings with top-flight survival at the top of his agenda for the season. [LNB]Grant said: 'I always look forward to the next game. We have a long League programme and in our situation we need to think game to game. [LNB]'I'm in football because there's always a big challenge. If you're at a big team you're trying to win all the time, if you're at a little team like Portsmouth the challenge is not to be at the bottom. [LNB]'I think it's a big challenge here and all my life I've enjoyed something like this. It's different to what I've had before. I don't compare with Chelsea. [LNB]CLICK HERE FOR THE MIDWEEK TEAM NEWS IN THE BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE'When I started as a coach I had challenges like this. At Chelsea I took a team that was on the way down and the challenge was to bring the team back to winning ways and we did it. [LNB]'And this is a different challenge, first to take the team away from the bottom and then for the future to make them an exciting team. [LNB]'I think the challenge is bigger here because there are so many problems. You can either give up or continue and I've never given up in my life. [LNB] Late show: Kaboul (left) rescued a point against Sunderland on Saturday[LNB]'There are so many problems, but the board is doing everything they can to solve them and we need to do our jobs on the pitch; that's what I'm going to make sure happens.[LNB] 'I knew everything when I took the job - the fixtures, the situation at the club, I knew everything. Everybody said to me when I was offered it not to take the job, but for me it made me even more ambitious to take it.' [LNB]Grant expects to have Kevin-Prince Boateng and Steve Finnan fit for the Chelsea visit after they missed the Sunderland game with a virus but Kaboul is suspended after he was sent off for celebrating his equaliser with his shirt off and was shown a second yellow card.  [LNB] Sunderland 1 Portsmouth 1: Kaboul saves Pompey... and then gets sent offRevisiting the horrors of my father's past helped me embrace the future, says Portsmouth boss Avram GrantEXCLUSIVE: Cash-strapped Pompey set for fire sale to see off creditorsPORTSMOUTH FC

Source: Daily_Mail