Desailly: Chelsea must conquer Europe

Chelsea tackle

Olympiacos

with a warning from one

of their greatest players

that nothing less than

success in Europe will

truly elevate them up

alongside the world's

elite clubs.

Marcel Desailly believes

that, despite their

domestic titles and cups,

there is a credibility gap

they need to bridge

before being feted

alongside the likes of

Manchester United.

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London calling: Desailly also had a successful time at Chelsea (1998-2004)

"There is still too much

distance between the

image of Chelsea and the

trophies they have won," he said.

"We talk about Chelsea

like Man United, Real

Madrid or AC Milan, but

when you look on the

sideboard you see only

two Premierships and

that's why this year is

important to reduce the

gap between the image

of Chelsea and what they

have actually won.

"The cups wouldn't close

that gap — for the fans

and players they are

something they can enjoy,

but for the club itself it's

not the real status."

The former central

defender, speaking at the

Laureus World Sports

Awards, is delighted with

the job Avram Grant has

done.

"Everybody loved Jose

Mourinho," he added.

"Grant is a very different

person, he doesn't have

the face of Mourinho but

he is effective. He

managed to win the

players over and this is

something I applaud him

for, because it wasn't

easy. He was lucky he had

such professional players.

"They have helped him to

build another attitude.

"Grant will be a real hero

when he wins the

Champions League. He

needs three or four years

because that is the

normal lifespan of a

coach — forget about

Ferguson and Wenger

because they are special.

"Everybody is surprised

how it has gone when you

look at how the club did

the press conference.

"He didn't know how

many years' contract he

had and it was terrible,

but they have steadied

the guy and we should

give him time.

"People misunderstand

(Roman) Abramovich. He

really loves football and

just because he has money

we doubt his intentions.

But he and the people

around him know the

story of football."

As an ambassador for

Laureus, which funds

sporting projects for

underprivileged children,

Desailly believes the

Premier League has its

priorities wrong in

proposing a 39th game

and going global to earn

yet more money.

"Money should not be the

reason all the time," he

said. "If you can find another

reason for a charity or a

foundation to help kids

directly, then yes."