Who is Steve Kean, and why is Chelsea interested?

By: Jack | June 18th, 2008

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BBC online is reporting that Chelsea are eyeing Steve Kean for a possible senior coaching role at the club. Let me be the first to say: Who?

Kean, currently an assistant at Coventry City, has been the No. 2 to Cookie Coleman since his stoic days at Fulham. During his playing career Kean spent time with Celtic and in Portugal with Académica de Coimbra.

Ding! We’ve found a winner. Kean is fluent in Portugese, thus the reasoning behind such a move. I hope.

However, do the suits at Chelsea know this man can also double as a groundsman and academy director — positions he held during a stint at Reading — as well as the tactical brains behind Scolari? During his time at Fulham, Kean was known as the man with the “tactical nous.”

So Kean was behind Fulham’s unebelivable performances in the early 2000s? Great signing for Chelsea me thinks.

Update: Since I published this, Kean has “politely” turned down a chance to join Chelsea. To stay at Coventry? Are you serious? From the Guardian:

“There was someone acting on behalf of Scolari who contacted me about a role at Chelsea,” Kean said. “I was very honest and explained that I’m under contract on a very exciting project at Coventry. I immediately phoned Chris [Coleman, the Coventry manager] and Ray [Ranson, the club chairman] to tell them about it and told them why I thought Chelsea had contacted me.

“I can speak Portuguese, I’ve got a lot of experience in the Premier League and I suppose I tick the boxes of what they’re looking for to help Scolari get started over here. That’s probably where it has come from. I have to say I was very flattered by the approach but the simple fact is I’m at Coventry and we are just getting started on something very exciting.”

Very exciting eh? Well, enjoy the party then my man.

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