Grant lauds heroes Terry and Lamps February 17 2008
Avram Grant insists the duo of John Terry and Frank Lampard deserve to be hailed as heroes by their home supporters.
Lampard extended his Chelsea goal tally to 101 by scoring a brace in the west Londoners 3-1 FA Cup fifth round victory over Huddersfield on Saturday and Terry made a polished return after almost two months out with a fractured foot.
The win, courtesy of the midfielder's double and a third from Salomon Kalou, ended the Terriers' hopes of causing an upset at Stamford Bridge.
Andy Ritchie's side stunned Chelsea on the stroke of half-time with an equaliser from Michael Collins but the League One side were never in the hunt in the second half.
It was the first successful step in a week that could go a long way to defining the Blues already remarkable season.
They face Greek champions Olympiacos on Tuesday night in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 clash and then meet Tottenham in the Carling Cup final at Wembley on Sunday.
But Grant is convinced that with Terry and Lampard back, the Blues have the courage, leadership and quality to seize more glory.
"They deserve to be the heroes of the club because of what they give to the team," insists the Israeli boss.
"The relationship is not one way between the supporters and the players and manager. We give to them, they give to us. They support us, we support them.
"It is easier when the supporters are behind you. They will always be here and I like it when they respect the players who give them so much.
"There are many midfielders in the world but you cannot compare Frank to anybody else. He is a midfield player who can do everything on the pitch but his best quality is to score goals. When he gets a chance, he scores.
"You can see that with the first goal, with the second goal. He will score many more.
"Modern football has become more and more organised and it's very important to have a player who can come from behind and score goals.
"John is a great leader. Even when he didn't play he was with us for the Carling Cup semi-final at Everton, having a big influence in the dressing room.
"But I like it better when he is available to play. I was surprised how quickly he came back from this injury. I thought it would take a week or two more. He is a great defender, a great player, a great leader."