Avram Grant has won over his bosses at Chelsea. Now he can win the adulation of the fans by lifting the League Cup today.
Chelsea defend their League Cup title against Tottenham at Wembley, and a Blues victory would give Grant his first trophy since taking over as manager from the popular Jose Mourinho in September.
It has taken fans a while to warm to Grant but Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon said the board's faith in the Israeli coach had been repaid.
"The results today are not what 99 percent of what the people in the room the day we introduced Avram as manager were expected -- and you have to give credit to Avram for that," Kenyon said.
Chelsea are in contention for four titles -- the League Cup, the FA Cup, the Champions League and the Premier League. The Blues are third in the league, eight points behind leader Arsenal.
APPARENT DIG
"There is still a lot of noise around the club, but it is around football," Kenyon said, in an apparent dig at Mourinho. "It is less controversial and it has enabled the players and management to get on with the job in hand. That is a different approach -- not right, not wrong, and ultimately, any manager is judged on results."
Grant has never criticized Mourinho and isn't about to start.
"We don't need to kill the ghost of Jose Mourinho because he did a good job," Grant said. "I am doing my job in Chelsea and until now the staff and the players have done a good job. If we win the trophy it will be good but, if not, we will keep our way to put Chelsea where they need to be."
Grant rested captain John Terry from the 0-0 draw against Olympiakos in the Champions League on Tuesday, and Frank Lampard only played the last four minutes, so both will be fresh for today. That doesn't mean they're a certainty to play.
"When you have big players in a team like Chelsea, it is always a difficult decision," Grant said. "It was not an easy decision on Tuesday."
"But also it was not a good situation when they were out, I think it was worse. Always there is a situation that is not easy, but this is my life and I like it," he said.
Tottenham are bidding for their first trophy since 1999, when they lifted the League Cup. Spurs will need history to upset Chelsea, having just two wins in 42 matches against their London rivals in 18 years.
"We know Chelsea are a good team and probably go into the final as favorites because they are higher up in the league table than us," Tottenham manager Juande Ramos said. "But anything can happen in football, and we need to play with the maximum level of concentration."
Spurs have beaten Chelsea in a major final before, but that was in the FA Cup 41 years ago.
SET TO START
Paul Robinson looks set to start in goal after a strong performance in Tottenham's 1-1 UEFA Cup draw with Slavia Prague on Thursday, which advanced the club to the round of 16. Robinson had been replaced by Radek Cerny for 10 games.
"He did a great job, he did everything he had to do," Ramos said. "We want him to produce the best performance possible and give the best of himself. He was out for a while but his performance was magnificent."
"The truth is if we play like we did against Slavia, then we are not going to win very often," Ramos said. "But you have to remember this is the same team that beat Arsenal three weeks ago, so we do have possibilities of winning."
Defender Pascal Chimbonda was substituted against Slavia Prague with a knee problem but should be fit to face Chelsea. Captain Ledley King could miss out with a knee injury and Michael Dawson is also doubtful with a hamstring problem.
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