Grant making a lasting impression

WHEN Avram Grant first walked into Portsmouth Football Club it almost resulted in Harry Redknapp flouncing out of the opposite door in a fit of pique.

But it’s a measure of the Israeli’s quiet progress that he left Fratton Park on Saturday embraced as a close friend and tipped as a title-winning manager with Chelsea.

Considering Chelsea had just been held 1-1 to slip six points behind leaders Arsenal in the Premier League, Redknapp’s assertion that Grant’s side will still make it a three-horse title race appeared little more than cordial generosity.