Saturday 19 December 2015 13:48, UK
Following the news that Chelsea have appointed Guus Hiddink as Jose Mourinho's replacement until the end of the season, we look at the issues he needs to address.
Hiddink returns to Stamford Bridge for a second spell following a three-month fill in 2009, where he led Chelsea to an FA Cup win.
Defending champions Chelsea are in the wrong half of the table the Premier League having lost nine times this season under Mourinho, and Hiddink has a weighty repair job on his hands...
Lighten the mood
By the end, everyone was to blame. And while that would suggest that the problems will not simply disappear following Jose Mourinho's departure, the arrival of someone not tainted by the tribulations of the last four months will help to lighten the mood.
Mourinho's spoke of his work being "betrayed" but the Chelsea players might feel some of the weight being lifted from them by not doing quite so much of it. That's why Hiddink could be ideal. With the Dutchman, football doesn't feel like work.
"He knows his stuff," said Frank Lampard during his first spell in 2009. "He doesn't over-talk, he doesn't try to fill you with 100 tactics, he just says the important things. That is the beauty of him." Mourinho tried lots of things but perhaps Hiddink's way is what they need right now.
Sharpen up the defence
It's not all about the minimalist approach though. For the Champions League semi-final against Barcelona, Hiddink devised a plan to keep out Lionel Messi and a team that had scored in every home game at the Nou Camp for over a year. It worked as they came away with a clean sheet.
"We completely trust him," said John Terry at the time. "The manager was spot on and did everything really well. We had worked really hard on things during the week. If Messi comes inside, Florent Malouda had to track back which he did, and Michael Essien on the other side did the same."
That's the application that Mourinho was looking for at Leicester and Riyad Mahrez. But his players did not respond and, having conceded 26 goals already this season (as many as they did in each of his first three seasons), Chelsea have one of the six worst defensive records in the Premier League.
Get the stars performing
"The first thing you need to do is get Eden Hazard onside," Jamie Redknapp told Sky Sports. Last season's player of the year contributed to 23 Premier League goals last season but is yet to score in any competition this term and has only two assists. His body language has not been good.
Likewise, Diego Costa has cut a frustrated figure in attack - accusing the team's defenders of sleeping and tossing his bib away after being left on the bench at Tottenham. The striker has scored only four goals all season. In midfield, Cesc Fabregas and Nemanja Matic have struggled badly.
Any kind of success is inconceivable without Chelsea's better players upping their levels. Hiddink must make it a priority from the outset. He's seen as a players' manager and the performances of Hazard and the rest from now until the end of the season will test that theory.
Empower the players
Empowering those players rather than criticising them could be key. Graeme Souness feels that the relationships with key figures were what cost Mourinho in the end. "I think he's fallen out with important players and that's come back to bite him big time," Souness told Sky Sports.
That's not Hiddink's style. Terry was substituted during the defeat to Leicester, Mourinho's final game in charge, but the new coach is sure to lean on one of the few players still at Chelsea from his first spell. That, more than any major tactical change, is likely to be the Hiddink approach.
Give youth a chance
There's sure to be a strange atmosphere at Stamford Bridge with Mourinho loyalists expected to chant the name of their departed boss with more lustre than usual. That could put those underperforming players under the spotlight more than ever but could it also be a chance for youth?
Ruben Loftus-Cheek was expected to be heavily involved this season but the young midfielder has been restricted to only 63 minutes of Premier League action. Increasing his game time could be a crowd-pleasing move by the new manager.
Mourinho seemed to regard the club's plight as a difficult environment for inexperienced players and Hiddink was happy to tick things along in his previous spell at Chelsea. But with a top-four finish all but gone, there is no such pressure this season. This might be the perfect chance to freshen it up.
