Chelsea near misses worry Kenyon

Chelsea near misses worry Kenyon

Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon has increased the pressure on coach Avram Grant by admitting results this season have not been good enough.

Grant guided Chelsea to second place in the Premier League and saw his side lose the Champions League final on penalties to Manchester United.

Kenyon said: "It's been an interesting season, but you don't like finishing second and as runners-up.

"Given the standards we've set, that's not something we've settled for."

Speculation is continuing to surround the future of Chelsea's Israeli coach, with reports suggesting owner Roman Abramovich and the Stamford Bridge hierarchy could make a decision over the weekend.

Kenyon said: "Three months ago, we were involved in four competitions, six weeks ago we were still in two and on Wednesday we got knocked out of the last one.

"It's disappointing from that point of view, but we're going to regroup from that and come back better next season."

And Kenyon warned Chelsea are ready to target players at the top end of the market to reclaim the Premier League crown from United and challenge again for the Champions League.

He said: "We're looking at players who have the potential to be star names. When you look at what we've got, you can all do it and think about who to replace in what position. But are they better than what we've got?

"We've brought in one player, Jose Bosingwa from Porto, who strengthens a position which has been an issue for us.

"We'll take our time to look at what else is needed, but I think that's two players rather than 20."

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