LONDON - Newspapers in England took the unusual step on Friday of publishing a verbatim transcript of Avram Grant's baffling post-match press conference following Chelsea's 1-0 win at Everton on Thursday.
"Is this the most bizarre football interview ever," asked the London Evening Standard, while The Guardian printed the press conference transcript under the headline: "Grant bites his tongue and plays strange yes/no game."
The Sun pointedly asked: "Av you gone mad?," saying Avram Grant had turned into Avram Grunt by the way he handled his media conference.
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Grant gave a series of curt answers to the media after his team's win, saying he didn't know whether Chelsea was still in the title race or not, even though at the time it was two points behind Manchester United. Manchester United drew 1-1 with Blackburn on Saturday so the gap is three points and both clubs have three games left. In addition, United visits Chelsea next Saturday.
However, at a strange post-match press conference, Grant gave terse answers to reporters' questions.
Asked if Chelsea is still in the title race, he replied: "I don't know."
Asked if the win meant Chelsea was back in the title race, he replied: "I don't know."
Asked if it was a relief to get a win he replied: "Yes."
Asked what pleased him about the performance, he replied, after a long pause: "I don't know."
Asked if he would like to gain some positive publicity for the result, "rather than this bizarre silence," he replied: "I'm sorry. You can write whatever you want and I can answer what I want."
Chelsea was upset the match was re-scheduled for a Thursday night because Sky Sports, which holds the rights to Premier League broadcasts, wanted to screen the match live as part of the title race.
Asked if he was upset that Sky TV moved the game to Thursday, Grant replied: "Maybe it's because of you. I don't know. I am Ok. Sky is Ok. I enjoy watching them."
Grant came under intense pressure from the media after Chelsea was held to a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge by Wigan Athletic last Monday night, a result that dented its title hopes.
Asked if his attitude in the press conference was a protest against the newspapers, he replied: "No, why?"
Why else are you refusing to answer our questions, he was asked. "I answer every question," he replied.
When asked whether he had ever played the yes/no game, Chelsea's press officer Simon Taylor said, "I don't think this is really going anywhere," and Grant left the room.
Earlier, Grant had told BBC Radio 5 Live that his side had controlled the game against Everton and the performance was better than Monday's against Wigan.
"We controlled the game," he said. "We had chances to make it 2-0 or 3-0 but our last pass was a bit sloppy. We scored a fantastic goal though. Tonight we wanted to score again to wrap it up, but in the last few minutes it is important to make sure you win the points."
He added: "I've been in life for many years now and pressure is part of it. Journalists who say we are having a bad season are trying to do their job, but maybe sometimes not in the right way."
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