Cole: Win or lose, good news for Blues
by Tom Adams, 15 May 2008
Whether Chelsea experience triumph or despair in the Champions League final in Moscow next week, Joe Cole is adamant that The Blues are ‘going in the right direction’ after a dramatic season behind the scenes.
September saw the shock departure of Jose Mourinho as the club’s manager and when the previously unknown Avram Grant was installed as his successor, the obituaries were written for Chelsea’s season in the national press.
However the Israeli has gone about his job quietly and effectively and having only lost the Premier League title on the final day of the season he now has the chance to emerge from Mourinho’s shadow once and for all.
The Champions League eluded the Portuguese during his time at Stamford Bridge and the fact that Chelsea have reached their first ever final is evidence enough for Cole that Grant is taking the West Londoners forward.
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The midfielder has also warned Wednesday’s opponents, Manchester United, that Chelsea will not stand still when the summer comes, having already secured the signature of £16.2 million defender Jose Bosingwa.
“We go in as underdogs, of course, they have won the championship, but the people at United will be looking at Chelsea and thinking, with all the injury problems and the turmoil that the club has had to deal with this year, we finished two points behind them this year,” said Cole.
“And they know we will strengthen in the summer, the club is going in the right direction whatever happens on Wednesday night, that’s for sure.
“I think you really take a look back on it and everything that has happened and like I said, the club is going in the right direction, whatever happens Wednesday night.
“If we were to win Wednesday night, not only would we be going in the right direction, we would be going in the right direction full speed ahead again.”
There have been suggestions that the summer transfer window will herald a transformation of the Chelsea squad, with numerous players linked with an exit and a predictably lengthy list of players supposedly targets for Roman Abramovich.
While he expects changes to be made, Cole does not believe that Champions League final success will be key to keeping hold of players such as Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard.
“No [Chelsea don’t need to win to keep the squad together], not at all,” Cole added.
“I’m sure there will be comings and goings at the club, like there would be any other club in the summer, but we are not interested in the dramas and ins and outs at the moment, we are going to concentrate on the game.
“The people in charge of the club are doing a great job and we are going in the right direction.”