Avram Grant is unlikely to use the word lightly, but yesterday provided an insight into the pressure that he is working under as he claimed that when Chelsea draw a match it is regarded as a tragedy. The Israeli has still to be told whether he will be retained as first-team coach next season but fears the worst, and is already privately discussing the possibility of moving upstairs as director of football.

Grant believes that it will take something extraordinary in the Champions League final to change his fate, with Chelsea already looking at alternative managers. A move for Roberto Mancini is being considered, though nothing will be decided until after Wednesday.

“At this club, at Chelsea, every draw is a tragedy,” Grant said. “You need to win every game. It’s good, for sure, to want to be the best and to have that pressure. You know when you’re at a top club. We won nine games in a row, which was a record, and then drew - and it was a disaster.” Grant believes that Chelsea can look forward to a successful future whatever his part in it, and is expecting an open game against Manchester United. “I hope this is the first of many finals for Chelsea,” he said. “We’re very happy that we’re in the final for the first time in the history of Chelsea, but we don’t want to be satisfied with that. We want it to continue and make more history. You will see in the next years the development. I’m not saying we will be in the final every year but we need to be challenging and this will not be the last time we are in the final.

“I think on the tactical side, this game is one of the easiest ones, because everybody knows everybody. I don’t think Alex [Ferguson, the United manager] will surprise me on anything and I don’t think I will surprise him.

“So, tactically, we know their weaknesses and strengths and I think they know ours. You don’t need to motivate players for this game. You need to preserve the game plan so that they give their best and concentrate on this game. It is one game, and then we all go on vacation.”