Avram Grant compare himself to Frank Lampard's first campaign at Chelsea: Abramovich would have sent me to send me to Siberia'

Former Chelsea manager Avram Grant compares his only season at the club with Frank Lampard's first campaign.

Grant does not deny that the young coach did a good job to lead the Blues to the Champions League qualification.

But at the start of Abramovich's reign, the requirements were very different: even the second place was not enough.

"I think it's a good season, especially compared to how it began, without being allowed to buy players," former Chelsea manager Avram Grant said of Frank Lampard's first season at Stamford Bridge while speaking to Stats Perform News.

"Compared to the requirement of Roman Abramovich, if I told him some years ago that fourth place would be good for him, probably he would send me to Siberia, but because of the situation before, I think it's a good place. For Frank, I think it's a big achievement.

"It's his first year as a coach in the Premier League. Of course, he was a player with a lot of experience, but you cannot compare a player to a manager, and I think he's managed the team very well.

"A lot of young players and he knew how to play them, how to give them a rest and when to push them. It's a good base for the future, I was very pleased with his performance."

In the 2007-08 season, when Avram Grant succeeded Jose Mourinho as the Chelsea boss, the Blues came agonisingly close to winning three trophies, only to be defeated at the last hurdle.

They finished second in the Premier League behind Man United and lost to the same team in the Champions League final, as well as to Spurs in the EFL Cup final. Within days of the disappointment in Moscow, Grant was sacked by the Chelsea owner.