Henk ten Cate, who was Avram Grant's right-hand man at Chelsea last season, was named as the new coach of Panathinaikos on Friday.

"I'm delighted to have reached an agreement with Panathinaikos. In my career I have been used to working at the highest level of competition and that's one of the reasons why I consider this new step to be a great challenge," said ten Cate who has signed a two-year deal.

"Panathinaikos' organization, history, ambition and attitude match those of the greatest clubs in Europe, so I'm confident that we will achieve our goals. I'm looking forward to coming to Athens and meeting my players."

Ten Cate, 54, was assistant manager at Chelsea under Grant last season where the Londoners finished runners-up to Manchester United in the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League. Grant has now been replaced by Luiz Felipe Scolari.

During the 2005/06 season ten Cate was assistant to Frank Rijkaard at Barcelona which won the Champions League title and the La Liga crown. He then served as manager of Ajax until October 2007. Ten Cate was a former player in the Dutch league and briefly had a stint with NASL side Edmonton Drillers in Canada.