Ten Cate confirms Chelsea talks

HENK TEN CATE has confirmed his current club Ajax are in negotiations with Chelsea over his proposed move to Stamford Bridge.

Speculation has been rife in the past week that Chelsea had identified Ten Cate to be the man to assist new incumbent Avram Grant.

The Ajax head coach had previously stated that he is content in Holland, but it would appear he is moving closer to a switch to West London.

It is widely believed that Ten Cate has agreed a three-year deal but he insists he will only leave if Ajax and Chelsea strike an amicable accord over his services.

“There has to be a solution between Ajax and Chelsea,” he said last night. “If that doesn’t happen I will stay with Ajax and otherwise there is a chance I will leave.”

Grant did not respond to the speculation surrounding Ten Cate after his side’s 1-0 win at Bolton yesterday, although he insisted he was enjoying the pressure that has made his position one of the least secure in the Premier League.

“I don’t want to live in football without pressure,” he said. “This is a big club, and I was at big clubs all my life, not here but in my own country. You have to feel pressure to produce your best and this is a good pressure, especially if we make some progress to change Chelsea a little bit. It’s a big responsibility but I like it.

“It will take time to change things. I think we need to see how we develop from month to month to be better in terms of football but sometimes you need the points, especially when you play away. Especially after a long time without a win. So the target for today was the three points. And the target for the long and short time is to build the style of how I want the team to play and play good football. The base before was good, but this season hasn’t been so good, so we are improving this.”

Grant made an early play to demonstrate he is not a Roman Abramovich yes-man by consigning Andriy Shevchenko to the bench, the kind of move that did nothing for his predecessor Jose Mourinho’s job security. The manager, though, rejected any suggestion his decision could bring him into conflict with his employer and insisted the Ukraine international still had a future at Stamford Bridge.

“When I got the job nobody told me who has to play,” he added. “I need to take the decisions for the good of Chelsea.

“We have a big squad and we need all the players including Sheva.

“We have a long season and every player will have good times and bad times. Sheva is trying hard, he is a great player, and I’m sure he will be good for Chelsea.”