Avram Grant talked at length today for the first time since his sacking as Chelsea manager, saying that he did not bear a grudge against Chelsea and dismissing rumours linking him with Manchester City as conjecture.

Reports have been rife since he was sacked on Saturday that Thaksin Shinawatra wants him to replace Sven-Goran Eriksson at City, but Grant denied that any move had been forthcoming. "It's speculation," he said. "I can't say anything at the moment. If there will be something we'll talk, at the moment nothing is happening." The Israeli agent Pini Zahavi is believed to be trying to find Grant a new job.

Grant, speaking before lecturing fellow Israeli coaches at a Uefa Pro coaching course in Tel Aviv which he is also participating in, said he had happy memories of Chelsea despite being dismissed after losing the Champions League final in a penalty shoot-out against Manchester United. He said he had no problems with their owner, Roman Abramovich, and insisted he had enjoyed his high-pressure stint at the club.

"I look back to this eight months and see good things," he said. "Roman gave me the opportunity and what I had to say to him was that I love the club and now each of us goes his own way. It was a great time for me, I enjoyed very much to be at Chelsea, I breathed the club for 24 hours a day during the time I was in charge. More than this, I enjoyed the development of the club and, towards the end, the fans were great too. I wish them luck.

"It was a wonderful chapter in my life, I enjoyed it. It was a unique
professional experience and it was good to end it with 40,000 fans cheering
and appreciating my work. I understand the initial hesitancy over my
appointment but I am happy that we ended up in this way. I really like
Chelsea now. I really want them to succeed but now we each go our own way."

Grant said that reports of the compensation he will receive (between £3.5m and £7.5m) are wrong. "The amount doesn't even come
close to what was written in the papers but I won't mind if somebody will be
prepared to make up the difference," he said. As to reports that he had hired a high-profile lawyer - Anthony Julius, who represented Princess Diana during her divorce – to negotiate his severance terms, he added: "There are no problems with Chelsea. If I need to I will talk to them directly, not through lawyers."

Grant told the press he rejected an offer to return to his old job as Chelsea's director of football after being sacked. "I understand the offer and why it was made but I thought that from my point of view it was not the correct move," he said. "What I discussed in private will stay private but let's say that I saw that it was not a good move for me at this stage."

Following Grant's lecture, the coaches were supposed to attend a training session by a fellow coach - ex-Maccabi Tel Aviv manager Nir Levin. All showed up but one, Avram Grant.

Meanwhile, the Chelsea assistant coach Henk ten Cate has insisted he does not fear for his job despite the recent sacking of Grant. Ten Cate, who left his job as Ajax head coach to become Grant's assistant at Stamford Bridge last October, said: "Half an hour before Chelsea officially announced the Grant news, I was called by Peter Kenyon. He told me the news and he also said that the sacking of Grant would have no consequences for me. I would rather believe him than the newspapers reports."

Ten Cate plans to meet with the Chelsea hierarchy later this week but insists this is not connected to Grant's exit. "That talk was already planned for months, so it has nothing to do with the recent developments," he said. "In January I had such an evaluation conversation and then we agreed that we would do it again after the season. For me it's simple. I have a contract until 2010 and I feel fine in my role as first assistant."