Hiddink Aiming To Keep Chelsea Honeymoon Going

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Category: Sports. Tags: Chelsea FC, English Premier League, Football, Guus Hiddink.

Hiddink aiming to keep Chelsea honeymoon going Guus Hiddink’s insistence that his Chelsea side have no margin for error if they are to salvage something from a chaotic season will once again provide a challenging benchmark as Wigan Athletic visit Stamford Bridge this weekend.

Two wins in his first two games in charge has given the temporary manager the start he demanded after agreeing to combine his duties with the Russian national team until the end of the current campaign.

Hiddink, though, is renowned as an unforgiving taskmaster and, having praised his new players’ efforts in securing a vital 1-0 Premier League victory at Aston Villa last weekend, his mood was far less upbeat in the wake of the midweek Champions League victory over Juventus.

The rejuvenated Didier Drogba ensured Chelsea travel to Turin for the second leg with a single-goal advantage, but his manager was quick to condemn the side’s failure to establish a more commanding lead and criticised the fitness levels of the squad he inherited from Luiz Felipe Scolari.

Hiddink has, nonetheless, injected a timely boost of optimism into the west London club at a time when it appeared they were in danger of falling out of the top four of the Premier League and looking wholly incapable of progressing in Europe.

Crucially, he also appears to have rekindled Drogba’s desire and willingness to contribute after a torrid few months for the Ivorian.

A title challenge still looks beyond Chelsea although victory over a much-improved Wigan would take advantage of Manchester United’s involvement in Sunday’s League Cup final and reduce the gap between Hiddink’s side and the leaders to seven points.

But if Chelsea are to mount a meaningful challenge for silverware this season, the last two games suggest a fit, hungry and in-form Drogba is central to their hopes.

Consigned to the bench by Scolari in the wake of his sorry performance in the 3-0 defeat at Manchester United, the striker has formed an effective partnership with Nicolas Anelka and credits his new manager with the change.

“At the moment I feel good when I’m on the pitch and I make the most of those priceless moments,” Drogba said.

“I’m not at my best because I think I need more games but I’m giving what I can at the moment.

“The truth is that the coach relies on me, which is a massive psychological boost for a striker.

“Physically, I’m not ready yet, but I need to play to get back in good form. You can see from the last two games that Hiddink is working a lot on the shape of the team, the organisation, you have to respect that because we know we will have chances to score goals.”

Wigan’s recent run of form has kindled hopes of qualification for a place in next season’s UEFA Cup and two weeks ago they would have travelled south confident of claiming at least a point.

But the plans of manager Steve Bruce have been thrown into turmoil following the loss of five key players to injuries and suspension.

Jason Koumas and Daniel De Ridder have thigh injuries, Ben Watson is suspended while Mido and Antonio Valencia have hamstring problems Bruce is unwilling to risk ahead of next week’s home clash with West Ham United, a game the manager views as much more winnable.

“It’s the first time I can remember we’ve had four or five missing and it’s not ideal,” admitted Bruce.