Grant expects hostile atmosphere

Watch Fenerbahce v Chelsea live on Sky Sports 3 this Wednesday

By Chris Burton   Last updated: 1st April 2008

chelsea avram grant sunderland

Grant: Ready for action

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Chelsea manager Avram Grant admits that he has previous experience of Fenerbahce's lively supporters.

The Blues travel to Turkey for the first leg on their UEFA Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday, and are fully expecting a cacophony of noise to welcome them to the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium.

The Premier League outfit should be well prepared having already experienced a trip to Greek side Olympiakos in the last round, but with supporters in Istanbul generally regarded as some of the most vociferous in the world the electric atmosphere may prove too much for some players.

Grant, though, who took a Maccabi Tel Aviv team to Fenerbahce in the European Cup back in 1996, hopes that his squad will thrive on the pressure of playing in such an intimidating arena.

Warm welcome

"I remember when we played here 12 years ago, and then it was only champions, and it was also a Brazilian coach (Carlos Alberto Parreira)," he said.

"We came here three hours before the game and the stadium was full.

"Basically I like very much the atmosphere here, it is a very good atmosphere for football and I expect it will be the same this time.

"We felt the warm welcome in the airport, and it was not the Galatasaray fans, so we expect a very good atmosphere."

Attractive

With Chelsea having come under criticism of late for their failure to produce eye-catching football, Grant also revealed that he was more concerned with grinding out results than putting on a show.

"I think we try all the time to combine both of them, but you cannot do it all the time," he said.

"In the Champions League it is more important to qualify and if you play good you have more chances to qualify, so we will try to do both.

"But the most important thing is after these two games to be in the next round."