The crucial half-time team talk credited with inspiring Chelsea’s fightback against Fulham on New Year’s Day was delivered by Steve Clarke, one of the assistant first-team coaches, not Avram Grant, the man in charge of the side. In the aftermath of the 2-1 victory Grant took the credit for administering the rollicking, so the revelation will cause him some embarrassment, though the first-team coach is unlikely to be too concerned as long as Chelsea maintain such spirit and stay in the Barclays Premier League title race.

Grant joked on Tuesday that the key decision to replace Steve Sidwell with John Obi Mikel at half-time was taken by Roman Abramovich, the owner, but it seems that other duties are shared around at Stamford Bridge. It is understood that Clarke tore into the players when they returned to the dressing-room for the interval at Craven Cottage, questioning their commitment and exhorting them to raise their game, while Grant sat and watched.

The Israeli’s contribution was quietly to announce the substitution after Clarke’s dressing-down had finished, before explaining on a one-on-one basis how the change would affect Michael Essien, who was moved into a more advanced midfield role.

While Grant may use the incident to demonstrate how well his new coaching team of Clarke and Henk ten Cate are working together, that does not explain why he was so eager to take credit for the team talk when Michael Ballack said after the match that it was a bit loud in the dressing-room. For the first time in his 3½month reign, the quietly spoken Grant indicated that he had a dark side, saying, “If I need to throw a teacup or even break a chair to win the game, that’s what I will do. If the players are sleeping then you need to wake them up.”

However, it appears that Grant did not do the waking, which will provide further ammunition for those who believe he lacks the charisma to manage such an ambitious club. Several senior sources at Chelsea have expressed concern about Grant’s ability to lift his players in the big matches and the fact that he is relying on Clarke during a West London derby against Fulham does not bode well for the future in that regard. It is understood that Ten Cate has fulfilled the role in the past, with his habit of barking out instructions leading the players to call him “Mad Dog” behind his back.

Grant received better news yesterday from Frank Lampard, who said he wants to stay at Chelsea for the rest of his career. The England midfield player has postponed talks on a new deal until the end of the season, but is hopeful of signing a lengthy extension to a contract that will have only 12 months to run in the summer.

“On a scale of one to ten, Chelsea is a ten for me in terms of importance and I’m not just saying that,” the 29-year-old said. “Everyone around me knows how much Chelsea mean to me. In my life my family comes first, but Chelsea come second.

“I don’t think I will receive the love I get from the Chelsea fans anywhere else. I feel strongly about it and I’d love to have another six or seven years of it. I’m at a club I love and living in an area I love. I see that Peter Osgood is on 150 goals for the club and I’d love to get to that level. I think I will carry on playing until I am around 35. I like to think I’m pretty fit and I will keep improving the more experience I get.

“Nothing has changed since the club and I decided that we wouldn’t talk about it until the end of the season. But I don’t want the fans to think there is anything sinister about it because I’m still desperate to get it done. If it could be done tomorrow I’d be happy with that, but it looks like it will be done later in the season.”

Hairdryers

Five coaches from the Sir Alex Ferguson school of team talks

Baltemar Brito José Mourinho’s No 2, known as “The Policeman” because of his stern discipline

Henk ten Cate Scuffled with Mourinho in the Nou Camp tunnel while at Barcelona and now known as “Mad Dog” at Chelsea

Vinnie Jones An intimidating presence as Queens Park Rangers’ player-coach in the late 1990s

Mick Harford As crazy as the best of them under Joe Kinnear at Wimbledon

Neil Ruddock “Razor” rowed with his own board during a brief spell as player-coach at Swindon Town

Words by Matt Hughes