Avram Grant may be the antithesis of José Mourinho, but the Israeli is not above borrowing a few of his predecessor’s best lines. The new Chelsea manager laid the blame for his side’s 2-0 defeat by Manchester United yesterday firmly at the door of Mike Dean, the referee, claiming that with a “normal” performance from the official, the result would have been different. Carlos Tévez and Louis Saha scored at the end of each half to move United up to second in the Barclays Premier League. Chelsea, at the end of a desperately difficult week, are sixth.

Grant’s complaints were less stridently expressed than many of Mourinho’s and contained more merit. He was unhappy at Dean’s decision to dismiss John Obi Mikel for a 32nd-minute foul on Patrice Evra, the fact that Tévez scored in the fourth minute of first-half stoppage time after two minutes were signalled by the assistant referee, and the award of a last-minute penalty to United after Tal Ben Haim’s challenge on Saha, which the France striker converted.

“A lot of strange things happened,” Grant said. “The sending-off, the goal after three minutes of extra time and the penalty. Maybe it’s coincidence, maybe I’m naive. He [Dean] made three mistakes only and apart from this he was OK.

“If the referee was normal the result would be different today. All the three decisions of the referee were strange because they happened in the same game. If it was one, then OK, but it was one, two, three. If [Sir] Alex [Ferguson] was in the same position, you can imagine what he would say.”

The United manager did indeed have some sympathy with Mikel’s third sending-off in less than 11 months - Chelsea are to appeal – though he was more concerned by Joe Cole’s later tackle on Cristiano Ronaldo, for which the England midfield player was only booked. Ronaldo takes more kicks than most and Ferguson condemned Cole’s challenge as one that could have ended his career.

“When you see the Cole tackle on Ronaldo, it’s the kind of tackle that can take players out of the game,” he said. “He keeps getting kicked in the Achilles and is going to get hurt. It should have been red, but it was a yellow because he [the referee] sent Mikel off in the first half. It was a bit harsh, but there was intent there. Mikel could have hurt the boy.”

With 11 points from their first seven Barclays Premier League matches, Chelsea have made their worst start since Gianluca Vialli was dismissed seven years ago, but Grant insists that they can still bridge the five-point gap to Arsenal. Grant had to endure chants and banners from the travelling fans in support of Mourinho, though Chelsea officials bizarrely claimed that the placards had been planted by Sky Sports.

“I remember they cried for [Claudio] Ranieri because they are good people,” Grant said. “I’ve only been here for three days so they have no songs for me yet. Maybe in two or three years. It’s not an ideal time to get the team in this situation, but we have to try and get results.”

Grant’s difficult start was compounded yesterday when the League Managers Association asked for clarification over his coaching qualifications after The Times revealed on Saturday that he does not possess the Uefa Pro Licence required to manage in the Premier League.

“The association’s stance on mandatory qualifications is well known and well documented,” an LMA statement read. “We have always supported the principles of education and preparation for a career in football management. We are making urgent contact with the Barclays Premier League.”