Final just the beginning for Grant

Chelsea FC manager Avram Grant insists this season is only the beginning as his side prepare to meet Manchester United FC in their first UEFA Champions League final.

'Create tradition'
Chelsea are the competition's most consistent side over the last five seasons, but have had to endure an unwanted hat-trick of semi-final defeats before finally seeing off Liverpool FC last month to reach their first showpiece. Having got this far, Grant believes the club could now be on the cusp of something great. "We are a big team now already but we create tradition here," he said.

'Lions of Europe'
"When you want to be a big club you need to be between the lions of Europe. The first thing you need is to be in the final, now we want more. But you will see in the next year that we will develop and it will not be the last time we are in the final. It was a dream of the club more than anything else to be in the final, especially after losing three semi-finals. We are very, very happy that for the first time in Chelsea's history we are in the final but we want to continue and do more."

Something to prove
Grant has proved many of his doubters wrong since replacing José Mourinho in September, and says he is happy to continue doing so, dismissing as "strange" questions concerning his future at the club. "If I win ten titles in ten years I will feel only that I [still] need to prove – this is what football is about, this is what I say to the players. The minute you think you don't have anything to prove you have a problem."

Trio back
With John Terry, Ricardo Carvalho and Didier Drogba all back in training after injury, Grant could afford to feel calm and relaxed. As the days tick down to the biggest match of his career, he said he would not be letting the pressure get to him. "My job is to think all the time and you need to be calm. You have to keep your head because if you are not calm you cannot take the right decisions. As a manager you cannot let emotion come during the game – at the final whistle of the referee everything is spontaneous."
 
No secrets
Grant fell to his knees on the Stamford Bridge pitch after beating Liverpool in the semi-finals. It remains to be seen how he reacts at the Luzhniki Stadium. There are no secrets, though, about the opposition, who are looking to add the European crown to the Premier League title they won on Sunday. "From the tactical side this game is one of the easiest ones because everybody knows everybody," he said. "I don't think [Sir] Alex [Ferguson] will surprise me with anything, I don't think I will surprise him. We know their weakness, we know their strength, I think they know also ours. They are a very good team with a lot of good players, but we also have a good team. You don't need to motivate players for this game."