Longtime friend of John Abraham, Avram Grant, former Chelsea manager, has stepped in to advise NEUFC for the remainder of the tournament.

Grant said, “I agreed to the challenge and am hitting the ground running. India is a new and exciting environment for football and look forward to the pace of the League. I have confidence in the club and we will do all we can to take the Club forward.”

Grant moved to England in 2006 to become Technical Director of Portsmouth before being appointed Director of football at Chelsea in July 2007 and steered the team into the Champions League final, the League Cup final and contesting the Premier League title to the last day. Grant has spent the majority of his career coaching and managing in Israel, winning a number of national league and cup victories with different teams, and also managing the Israeli national team for four years. His last appointment was coach of the Ghana national football team.