Avram Grant has been buoyed by the reaction from his players following their shock FA Cup exit at the hands of Championship side Barnsley.

Grant held an inquest into the 1-0 defeat that put them out of the competition they won last season and was uplifted by the way they responded.

Chelsea can close the gap at the top of the Premier League with victory over Derby at Stamford Bridge and Grant wants his players to bounce back in style from the disappointment of missing out on a place in the last four of the FA Cup.

"You could see the reaction from training," said Grant. "When they spoke, they spoke very well.

"I told them they had to come out fighting and they agreed with this. We can learn from what we did ourselves after the Carling Cup.

"Everybody fought and showed a good spirit, like I wanted, in training. I said to the players: 'We need to know how to behave in the good times and the bad times.'

"They reacted well. The players are very honest at Chelsea. They're very determined. They want to prove themselves again. We are, as a team, together. We want to do what we did after the Carling Cup.

"All the players are very disappointed. We are a proud team, we want to win all the time. We know it's not possible - all the big teams lost in the cup, and you know how they lost."

Grant revealed that his friendship with the club's billionaire owner Roman Abramovich has been put aside while he is manager and he is not thinking about whether his own future is in doubt.

Abramovich was said to have been incensed by their FA Cup exit but Grant said: "He's still my friend, but now he's also my boss. We know not to put friendship in that relationship.

"I didn't come here for friendship. Our relationship as friends has stayed the same, but when it comes to the team he's the boss of this club. We share a vision for this club.

"I expect to get results. Inside the club, we are disappointed when we lose, but we don't check ourselves after every loss. We assess things after a period of time, seeing what we've done wrong.

"When we were winning nine games in a row, we were also checking ourselves. We want to win a trophy. We are now in the two major trophies but I'm sure we're moving in the right direction.

"If I didn't think that I wouldn't be here. We want it. I'm very disappointed that we lost. Over the last six months we've been improving.

"I'm very happy to be the manager of Chelsea. I'm very pleased to be here. Since I've been here, I've heard so many questions about 'what if'?

"But what if it works out? I'm positive, I'm an optimist. Most of the time, not all the time, we've done a good job.

"I'm not thinking about what might happen. I'm thinking about what happens if we continue doing a good job and learn from our mistakes because, if we do, this club will be a lot bigger than it is now."

And the 52-year-old Israeli believes he still has the backing of the players as they prepare for the title run-in.

He added: "When you lose against Barnsley, or in the Carling Cup, you don't need anybody telling you. I look at myself personally and I don't like it. Most of my life I've won games - 80% or 90% of the games.

"Cups are cups. One game and you're out. Other criticism is acceptable, even if you don't agree. I can only judge the players from what they say to me and how they behave on the pitch.

"They're proud to be Chelsea players. Even big clubs don't win forever. But big clubs know how to respond to one or two weeks that are not so good. It's a test of the strength of the club. They responded well after the Tottenham game."

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