The former Chelsea boss was appointed advisor to the club’s owner, the Bollywood actor and firm producer John Abram, last week and he took charge as manager a day later following the sacking of Portuguese head coach Joao de Deus.

Based in Guwahati in Assam, NorthEast United are languishing in ninth place in the 10-team SuperLeague after eight games. Grant will take charge for the remaining nine games but need not fear relegation as the league is a US franchise-style closed league.

Grant said: "It’s going to take me a few more days to fully assess the team but I can already say there is a great passion for football here.

“The pitches are great, there is a willingness to learn and huge potential to develop football here.”

Other managers in the SuperLeague include John Gregory, Steve Coppell and Teddy Sheringham.

This is Grant’s first job since stepping down as Ghana national coach last February.