Pompey don´t need luck to shock Chelsea, says Grant

Portsmouth manager Avram Grant insists his side don’t need luck to pull off one of the great FA Cup upsets in Saturday’s final against Chelsea.

Grant’s team are universally regarded as underdogs in the Wembley showdown with Premier League champions Chelsea after a dismal season at Fratton Park marred by financial chaos and relegation to the Championship.

The Israeli can’t even be sure which players will be available to him as several of his stars are battling injuries.

In contrast, Chelsea will arrive at the English national stadium brim full of confidence after routing Wigan 8-0 to win the title last weekend.

Yet, while Grant acknowledges Chelsea’s quality, he believes his team can produce a result which would rank alongside Wimbledon’s win over Liverpool in the 1988 final and Sunderland’s shock final victory against Leeds in 1973.

And if they do beat the odds against Carlo Ancelotti’s exensively assembled collection of superstars, former Chelsea boss Grant insists it will be a triumph of hard work rather than a lucky win.

“In football, 10 percent happens without a reason, but 90 percent is down to hard work, process and a way of thinking,” he said.

“That is what we have here – we are strong here and this is the most important thing.

“People talk about destiny, yet that means you don’t have to do anything because it will happen anyway.

“I believe in a combination: that there is a destination and things you need to influence. Success will not come to you, you have to go to success.

“I believe that against Chelsea, first we need to do our job and then hope for something I cannot control.”

Pompey shouldn’t be overawed by the experience of playing in front of a 90,000 capacity crowd at Wembley. They won the FA Cup under Harry Redknapp two years ago and have already beaten Tottenham in the semi-finals there this season.

Grant said: “I don’t believe in football that you need to fear. Against this team we need to be very, very careful because they can hurt you from everywhere.

“They are a very good team, they deserve to be champions, they have won in style many games.

“We know we are the underdog. I don’t like to be the underdog, but we are.

“They may be better before the game and after the game – but we will try to be better during the game.”

Grant came within a missed John Terry penalty kick of taking Chelsea to Champions League glory against Manchester United in Moscow two years ago, before being sacked just weeks later.

Despite the unpleasant nature of his departure, Grant insists he bears no ill feeling towards his old club.

“I had a job to do at Chelsea, first as a director of football, then they wanted me to be the manager. I didn’t think it was so good for me, but we needed to do a job for the club,” he said.

“The team was on the way down and we took them forward, to the Champions League final.

“I lost only one game, against Arsenal. So many things were positive, why do I need to remember the negatives?

“When I went to Chelsea, they told me nobody would have put a pound on us being in the Champions League final. I think here nobody put even 1p that Portsmouth would be in the FA Cup final. It’s a big achievement.

“Chelsea are still better than us before and after the game – but during the game, sometimes maybe not.”