United manager praises ‘under fire’ Chelsea coach

May 3 2008 by Mark Douglas, The Journal

NEWCASTLE boss Kevin Keegan admits it makes him feel vulnerable in his job at St James’s Park to see Chelsea counterpart Avram Grant’s position under threat. United are preparing for the biggest test of their renaissance on Monday when the Champions League finalists visit
St James’s Park needing a win to maintain their battle on both the domestic and European front.

Keegan watched Chelsea prosper in Wednesday’s epic semi-final with his former club Liverpool to keep their hopes of an historic double alive, a prospect that may still not save a manager who is struggling to emerge from the shadows of the deposed Jose Mourinho.

That has bewildered Keegan, who himself was at the centre of speculation about his position when he re-joined United at the turn of the year, and made him question what constitutes a successful manager in the modern game.

Ironically, Keegan can play a big part in Grant’s fate with a win on Monday which would effectively spell the end of Chelsea’s title challenge. The Blues still being involved in the championship race keeps the season alive for United, and that is something the Newcastle manager is delighted about.

“There’s still so much for so many teams to play for. We are playing for the biggest thing of all – pride,” said Keegan. “It’s a fantastic end-of-season game for us. If we weren’t playing Chelsea – and then Everton – there’s a danger we would want to get the season over. But we are playing a team that has just got to the Champions League final. There’s something in it for us and that’s a good thing for our supporters and for football.

“Chelsea are a good side and Avram Grant’s had a fantastic season. People may say he’s not doing a very good job there, but it makes the rest of us look very vulnerable if Avram Grant is in trouble.

“I feel like everyone else in the game – he’s had a pretty rough ride. He’s done a great job. He went in and you’ve got to remember they’d played four or five games, not particularly well under Mourinho for whatever reasons, and while he lost his first game his record since is incredible and you cannot deny that.

“If you’re saying ‘Is he the sort of personality you want to put in front of the cameras?’, I think he has a good personality, but he is not Mourinho. He came to Man City when he was with Israel and spent a day at the training ground. I liked him, and I had Eyal Berkovic there so there was a connection.

“He is not a guy who comes in and struts in the place, you know he is not John Wayne but he knows football and he has done a great job. That is what he should be judged on.”

Keegan rates the Israeli as the leading candidate for the manager of the year award this season – a title that he feels he is one of few coaches not eligible for.

“I think there are a lot of candidates actually this year which, of course, I am not one. I think you have to wait for manager of the year, to be honest,” he said. “If Alex Ferguson wins the title and the European Cup, then he should be manager of the year because that’s an incredible thing. If Avram Grant wins it, he is your manager of the year. There are others – Martin O’Neill has done a great job too. Mark Hughes is another one who’s done a good job on (limited) resources. It depends on what you feel constitutes a good job.

“You might think Gary Megson should be manager of the year or Roy Hodgson if they keep Bolton or Fulham up. I am probably the only one who can’t win it. So at least I can honestly give a view that is totally unbiased.”

Meanwhile, Keegan has vowed not to let the club’s initial setbacks in the transfer market affect their summer plans. Croatia star Luka Modric turned them down last week but Keegan is philosophical about missing out. “We are not going to get all the shells on the beach. Every team in Europe was interested in him. We are still looking,” he said.