Hiddink warning for Pav

Russia boss wants striker playing more

Last updated: 4th November 2009   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Hiddink warning for Pav

Pavlyuchenko: Out of favour

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Russia head coach Guus Hiddink has expressed his concern at Roman Pavlyuchenko's playing time for Spurs.

The Russia ace is well down Harry Redknapp's pecking order having made just four Premier League appearances off the bench this season.

Hiddink is keen for all of his players to play regular first-team football in a bid to be ready and fit for their upcoming play-off matches.

Although Pavlyuchenko is unlikely to start either of Russia's play-off matches with Slovenia, Hiddink says his talents cannot be ignored.

"I'm seriously concerned about his position at Spurs," said Hiddink. "Perhaps he should think about how he can get more playing time.

Special qualities

"But despite all his problems with match practice, Roman has special qualities: in almost every match he has one or two chances to score, and he often takes them.

"Therefore, we shouldn't exclude him from the national team completely. If the match against Slovenia is not going our way, Pavlyuchenko should get his chance."

Hiddink has stopped short of saying Pavlyuchenko needs to move on to further his career, stating only that he needs to play more to remain in his plans.

"Of course, it's none of my business to determine what Pavlyuchenko should do in the future," he continued.

"Maybe he still has a place at Tottenham but I certainly would like him to play more often."