In his statement following his appointment on Saturday, Guus Hiddink talked of his determination to turn things around but the fans’ reaction during the match with Sunderland suggests the scars of this season will not fade quickly.
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In February 2009, while also manager of Russia, Hiddink took temporary charge at Chelsea and the Blues lost just one league game to finish third in the Premier League, before beating Everton 2-1 in the FA Cup final.
“Guus Hiddink’s training is very intense”.
Mourinho was sacked on Thursday with champions Chelsea 16th in the Premier League table, one point above the relegation zone.
Former Netherlands boss Guus Hiddink has been appointed interim Chelsea manager until the end of the season.
In a trophy-laden managerial career that has stretched over four decades, the 69-year-old has also won four Dutch titles and the European Cup (the forerunner to the Champions League) with PSV Eindhoven, and the UEFA Intercontinental Cup during a short at the helm of Spanish giant Real Madrid.
‘I am looking forward to working with the players and staff at this great club and especially renewing my wonderful relationship with the Chelsea fans’.
Hiddink guided his country to the semifinals of the 1998 World Cup in France, and repeated that feat at the 2002 World Cup with unheralded co-host South Korea.
Chelsea will expect Hiddink to have a positive impact on the players and will be expected to change things around immediately – although he will not officially start in his position until the Boxing Day fixture at home to Watford next Saturday.
Pedro added a second but it’s fair to say that the fans were still unimpressed by chanting: ‘Where were you when we were sh*t?’
Fabregas and Costa have been two of Chelsea’s worst players this season, with fans believing that the two, and Hazard, have been actively playing badly in an, ultimately successful attempt, to get Mourinho out of the job.
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The defender wrote: “We are aware there have been rumours of player power at the club but I want to make it clear that is not the case”. “Nor was it a spur-of-the-moment decision; Mr Abramovich and the Board anguished over it for some time”.
