Cole admits Chelsea blues

Cole: Players were unhappy

Under the past regime there were a lot of unhappy players.

Joe Cole
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Joe Cole has admitted many of Chelsea's stars were unhappy under Luiz Felipe Scolari and stated Guus Hiddink has been a breath of fresh air.

World Cup winner Scolari replaced Avram Grant at Stamford Bridge last summer and despite a bright start to life under the former Portugal manager the cracks soon began to show.

Domestic results steadily declined amid unrest in the camp and it was ultimately Chelsea's poor Premier League form which saw the axe fall on the Brazilian tactician.

The club have brought in vastly-experienced manager Hiddink as a short-term replacement and Cole would dearly love the man he describes as a 'breath of fresh air' to stay on following Scolari's failure.

Respect

"I think the guys would like him to stay on, but we respect him. He's got another contract and other responsibilities that he's got to look after," he told Sky Sports News.

"He's been a breath of fresh air for this club. It's only now really since he's come in that people stop talking about Mr Mourinho. Under the past regime there were a lot of unhappy players so he's come in, he's got everyone on the same page.

"We're all fighting. I'm gutted I can't work with him because you see the lads coming in from training with big smiles on their faces. They are enjoying their football. We're winning games. I'd love to have worked with him."

Chelsea have now gone three years since winning the title and Cole insists his team-mates are desperate to close the gap on Manchester United and regain their crown.

Relishing

Cole says Sir Alex Ferguson's side deserve to be closing in on a third successive title, although he is relishing knocking them from their lofty perch next season.

"There's a climb back to the top. We were at the top three years ago you know?" he continued.

"Now we've dropped a little bit down from that. Now we need the man to come and lead the players to take us back up there.

"We've got every respect for Manchester United. They've been a different class these last three seasons. It's a great challenge now for us to try and knock them off their perch."