Coventry Coach Kean Spurns Chance to Join Scolari's Chelsea

The Coventry City assistant manager Steve Kean has turned down the chance to join Luiz Felipe Scolari's coaching staff at Chelsea. Kean spent six years in Portugal as a player with Coimbra and speaks Portuguese - a potentially vital requisite if Chelsea are looking for a British coach to work alongside the Brazilian Scolari - but he has committed his immediate future to Coventry.

"There was someone acting on behalf of Scolari who contacted me about a role at Chelsea," said Kean. "I was very honest and explained that I'm under contract on a very exciting project at Coventry. I immediately phoned Chris [Coleman, the Coventry manager] and Ray [Ranson, the club chairman] to tell them about it and told them why I thought Chelsea had contacted me.

"I can speak Portuguese, I've got a lot of experience in the Premier League and I suppose I tick the boxes of what they're looking for to help Scolari get started over here. That's probably where it has come from. I have to say I was very flattered by the approach but the simple fact is I'm at Coventry and we are just getting started on something very exciting."

Scolari will take over at Stamford Bridge at the start of next month. He is expected to bring at least two members of his Portugal backroom staff to London - his long-standing assistant Flavio Murtosa and the fitness coach Darlan Schneider.