Grant Says 'friend and Boss' Abramovich Shares His Vision for Chelsea

Avram Grant insists that he and Roman Abramovich "share the same vision" for Chelsea with the Israeli's belief in his ability to lead the club into an era as glittering as that enjoyed by his predecessor, Jose Mourinho, unshaken by the weekend's FA Cup humiliation at Barnsley.

Chelsea host the Premier League's bottom club, Derby County, at Stamford Bridge this evening aware that victory will lift them to within five points of Arsenal at the top with a game in hand. Grant has been forced to endure the fallout from Saturday's shock 1-0 defeat at Oakwell, coming so soon after the Carling Cup final loss to Tottenham Hot spur, and has spoken at length with his players and Abramovich. While he admits the reverse was "embarrassing", he remains convinced that he is the right man for the job.

"If I feel I'm not doing my job to take Chelsea forward or if someone tells me I'm not doing my job I would not be here," said the manager. "The minute I believe I can't take the team forward or someone else tells me that, I'll accept it. But over the last six months we've been improving. I'm sure we're moving in the right direction. If I didn't think so, I wouldn't be here.

"Roman was disappointed with the game on Saturday, like all of us, but a big club doesn't change targets because of one lost match or even nine wins in a row. We share the same vision. I came here to take this team forward and that's what I'm going to do. Stability is very important, especially when the club have a vision. It's easier to realize that with stability, not just the manager but with the right staff to go with them for a long time.

"Roman is still my friend but now he's also my boss. We know not to put friendship in that [professional] relationship. But people judge Chelsea differently to other big clubs. We've done a great job in the league and, if we win our games in hand, we'll be close to Manchester United and Arsenal. We're disappointed with what happened on Saturday but that didn't change the vision of the club. We're very proud of what we've achieved so far."

Those achievements are still under scrutiny. A significant number of Chelsea's disgruntled traveling support chanted Mourinho's name as Grant trudged down the touchline in defeat at Barnsley, with this evening's game - albeit against a team with only 10 points and a goal difference of -44 - yet to sell out. The hosts will be without Petr Cech but will welcome the return of Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba after they were told to rest minor thigh and knee complaints at the weekend. While victory tonight is expected, truer tests of this team's capabilities under Grant lie ahead against the league's top two.

The Israeli has inspired a swift response to failure before. The Carling Cup defeat by Spurs was followed by rampaging victories over West Ham United (4-0 at Upton Park) and Olympiakos (3-0 at home) last week, leaving Derby braced for the backlash. "At Chelsea, like at a lot of big clubs, every loss is a crisis," said Grant. "Any loss is like a world war. But, within the club, it is not like that. I'm not under any more pressure than I was before and I'm not under any less. We know how to behave internally whether we're winning or losing games.

"I've spoken with the players and they were very hurt by the defeat. They're very proud and it was embarrassing losing a game like that. I've been happy with how they have responded in training. I told them they had to come out fighting and they agreed. Everybody fought and showed a good spirit, like I wanted, in training. I said: 'We need to know how to behave in the good times and the bad times.' They are honest, determined and want to prove themselves again.

"To be a manager today is not an easy life, whether it's in Derby or Chelsea. But it's also exciting. You create something, you need to think all the time, you're building for the present and the future. I like the job at Chelsea, even if I didn't like it on Saturday. But, since I've been here, I've heard so many questions about what if [things go wrong]. What if it works out? I'm positive, I'm an optimist. Most of the time, not all the time, we've done a good job. I'm not thinking about what might happen. I'm thinking about what happens if we continue doing a good job and learn from our mistakes because, if we do, this club will be a lot bigger than it is now."