Grant congratulates United

Chelsea boss proud of players

By Lewis Rutledge   Last updated: 11th May 2008

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Avram Grant paid tribute to Manchester United after Chelsea were beaten to the Premier League title.

The Blues had to defeat Bolton and hope that United dropped points against Wigan if they were to finish top of the table.

Chelsea's result was rendered meaningless as United won 2-0 at the JJB Stadium, but Grant was nevertheless pleased with the efforts of his players over the course of the season.

"I want to congratulate United and especially Sir Alex Ferguson. They had a great season," Grant told Sky Sports.

"We also had a great season. We did not start very well but we recovered and played good football."

Chelsea finished two points behind United after being held to a 1-1 draw by Bolton in their final game of the season.

Andrei Shevchenko gave Chelsea a deserved lead in the second half but Grant admits there was a loss of focus in the last few minutes as news of the United scoreline became public knowledge, before Matt Taylor scored a last-gasp equaliser.

Grant explained: "The motivation was a little bit lower today as they heard the result but I am very proud of what we have done this year."

Grant concedes there was only a brief period of the afternoon when he believed Chelsea could overhaul United.

"We were 1-0 up and they were 1-0 up, but when they were 2-0 up we knew it was not in our hands," he said.