Finding it hard to spot the difference between Chelsea in the José Mourinho era and now? Frank Lampard would understand. The midfield player said yesterday that, while the medium is different, the message from Avram Grant, the Chelsea first-team coach, is essentially the same.

“Avram’s done well,” the midfield player said. “It’s not easy to follow Mourinho, but he’s done it in his own way. He has a different style — a calm style — and he talks to the players individually. He hasn’t tried to change too much. The manager has been telling players to express themselves, but no more than José Mourinho did. The entertainment thing at Chelsea gets blown up out of all proportion. The manager hasn’t changed that — he wants to win and, if we can entertain along the way, then fine.”

Chelsea will have to win and entertain in this evening’s FA Cup fourth-round tie at the JJB Stadium without Lampard, who has a thigh injury. He will remain sidelined for up to a fortnight, a bitter blow because Fabio Capello, the new England manager, is soon to name his first squad.

“I started the season feeling good, got injured, then came back and played some of the best football I’ve ever played,” Lampard told Sport magazine. “And then I got injured again — I’ve never had to deal with it before, and it’s very frustrating.”

The previous time Chelsea met Wigan Athletic, Lampard and Juliano Belletti gave Chelsea a 2-0 win that proved to be Chris Hutchings’s last match as the Wigan manager. Under his replacement, Steve Bruce, Wigan’s form has picked up. “Steve started off from scratch,” Mario Melchiot, the Wigan and former Chelsea defender, said. “He looked at us and wasn’t really happy with how fit we were. He wanted to get our energy levels up.”

Branislav Ivanovic, the Serbia defender, 23, signed by Chelsea from Lokomotiv Moscow, was unveiled to the media yesterday but will not play this evening.