Cech - Basics the key

Cech: Basics the key

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Petr Cech has praised the influence of Guus Hiddink on the Chelsea team - and hopes his successor will be just as adept.

The Blues got their season back on track under the experienced Dutch coach after appearing to lose their way under old boss Luiz Felipe Scolari.

Hiddink will return to his Russian coaching duties after the FA Cup final against Everton on 30th May and Cech will miss his assurance.

The shot-stopper hopes the new coach will play the Chelsea team to their strengths just as Hiddink has done.

He told The Observer: "Mr Hiddink restored the spirit of the old Chelsea and added his own things.

Success

"You can see everywhere he's been he's had success. This isn't a coincidence. You could see his experience of working with top players.

"The strength he has is that he knows what he has in the team. He doesn't ask people to do things that aren't in their character.

"You can see that working perfectly when the manager knows to use the right people for the right jobs."

Cech added that Hiddink returned the Blues to their formidable selves by doing the basic things right.

"In December and January (under Scolari) we were missing a lot of discipline," he said.

"That, for me, was the key, going back to basics. Basic things we were getting wrong and losing points.

"Everyone knows what the strength of the team was, and in every game he (Hiddink) has used the right players to achieve exactly what we wanted on the pitch.

"When you get that right, everything works. He's not one of the managers who speaks a lot, but every time he says something he's spot on."

Stability

As for the future, Cech hopes the new boss will stay for the long-term, so bringing stability to the club.

"It's always important to get someone who can stay long-term. But it's always difficult to see if the person you choose will stay long-term. With Mr Scolari everyone hoped this would be the manager for five years, but it didn't work out," said Cech, adding whoever comes in will have a great squad to work with.

"Whoever comes next will find a very strong group of players with a lot of experience, great character, and a will to win things and work hard.

"This is the big advantage of the new manager. Here, there is great unity among the players and quality as well.

"Some people might leave, some people might stay, but the core of the team is very strong."