Hiddink to stick with Cole Blues boss prepared to forgive misdemeanour

Guus Hiddink has severely reprimanded Ashley Cole in the wake of his recent arrest, but will not be axing the full-back from weekend action.

Cole, along with Chelsea captain John Terry and young centre-half Michael Mancienne, have all been given a dressing down by their interim boss for breaking a club curfew.

All three were out into the early hours of Thursday morning, with their behaviour making the headlines.

Cole became embroiled in a heated exchange with paparazzi photographers while making his way home, and spent the night in a police custody suite as a result.

While Hiddink admits the incident could not be allowed to pass unnoticed, the Dutchman is prepared to forgive and forget.

"I spoke with Ashley this morning in private," said Hiddink.

"He explained the details of what happened.

"I am a disciplinarian, but every case is different. You have to judge what the circumstances were, and that's why I tackled him on his behaviour.

"He said he was, in his opinion, harassed a little bit by the photographers and that is why he reacted. Afterwards, he regretted that.
Rules

"At that moment they are out of the rules which are set by the club to a certain extent before a game. I spoke firmly to him and the captain and Michael Mancienne.

"Ashley will be in the squad for tomorrow. He has publicly apologised about his conduct and behaviour to the police officer, and it is a rather private matter.

"We have an internal discipline, and this is to be considered internal. I have spoken firmly with him about his responsibility.

"There are rules inside this club regarding going out and also discipline, so I had a firm talk with him and the rest of the group about this.

"What is normal and good in this is that he apologised for his abusive behaviour to the police officer.

"He went a little bit too far. This is a country where we like to emphasise big things. The truth has to be told and the facts have to be told.

"If he regrets it deeply and makes his apologies directly then we have to close the case. That is why I tried to go with the daily routine, because we have an FA Cup match tomorrow (against Coventry).

"But they must not repeatedly show conduct which is counter-productive to the team. We, as a club, are talking firmly."
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Hiddink hails Drogba attitude Kind words for Drogba as Essien closes in on return

Chelsea boss Guus Hiddink has moved to praise the contribution and attitude of striker Didier Drogba.

Drogba was something of an outcast figure at the club during Luiz Felipe Scolari's reign as manager, with the Brazilian favouring Nicolas Anelka in attack ahead of the Ivorian.

But the 30-year-old has since started both games under the management of Hiddink, and the Dutchman admits that he has been impressed by the man just as much as the footballer.

"His attitude is very good," revealed the former Holland, South Korea and Australia boss.

"I knew about Didier because of his performances in the World Cup and other tournaments, but I didn't know him personally.

"I'm very positive about his contribution. On the pitch he is fighting for every ball so the other ones can take advantage of that. And besides that he got his goal.

"Off the pitch he is a great example in the dressing room to make the team strong. So he is not just for himself, he is very committed with the rest of the team as well. I cannot find one detail that's not okay."
Team ethos

Another criticism aimed at Scolari was his unwillingness to employ Drogba and Anelka alongside one another.

However, Hiddink sees no such problems in fielding the two, so long as they work not just for each other, but for the rest of their team-mates

"This debate will go on. But what for me is the most important thing, is if they are both bringing what they can tactically to the team," he said.

"That means they have a defensive responsibility as well when we lose possession and if they do that then we can use their force, their sharpness when we have the key moments in attack.

"And if that's the case, then I am sure they can play together."

Star back in action

Meanwhile, midfielder Michael Essien is closing on a return to first-team action after almost six months on the sidelines.

The Ghanaian has not played since sustaining cruciate knee ligament damage back in September, but Essien is now set to feature in his first competitive game for the Chelsea reserve side on Monday - much to Hiddink's pleasure.

"He is developing very well. We have put him through some tough games in recent days, 5-a-side, 8-a-side, and he will be available shortly I think," Hiddink added.

"We plan to play him on Monday with the reserves at Aston Villa. I hope he will be back soon.

"If you see him training with the group he is doing well, and also his presence is good to see, so I am positive about that."
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Chelsea: Essien believes his return in March The Ghanaian midfielder is approaching the final weeks of recovery from the ruptured cruciate ligament

Michael Essien opened the way for his return to the playing fields and the goal was to return to play in March. The midfielder suffered a broken ligament in left knee in September and maintains the illusion of becoming a key part of Guus Hiddink.

The Ghanaian player suffered the injury in the match against Libya on the African qualifying for the World Cup in South Africa 2010 and could not even play in the season as the starting time had been lost by a muscular problem.

However, the Chelsea medical department rely heavily on their recovery, and to have included in the list of the final stage of the Champions League.

"According to what the physiotherapist told me, I would demand more time than a month. He told me that once you have two or three weeks of physical labor, be in perfect condition to play again," said the player.

He also underlined that the excitement generated by the arrival of the new Blue entreador andalusia club. "It's a fantastic coach. I hope we can spread his magic and give us the strength to face competition."
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Hiddink´s Chelsea seek Cup lift at Watford

WATFORD, England (AFP) - Chelsea travel to Championship strugglers Watford on Saturday in the last 16 of the FA Cup hoping to impress new boss Guus Hiddink and put their season back on track after a troubled week.

Chelsea axed manager Luiz Felipe Scolari on Monday after only eight months in charge, with the Blues seven points behind Manchester United at the top of the Premier League.

Hiddink has been appointed Chelsea boss until the end of the season but is expected to allow Ray Wilkins, who was assistant to Scolari, to take charge against Watford while the Dutchman watches from the stands at Vicarage Road.

The FA Cup tie could prove tough for Chelsea despite the Hornets flirting with relegation to League One, English football's third tier.

Watford manager Brendan Rodgers knows all about his opponents, having managed the Chelsea reserve side before coming to Vicarage Road in November. Rodgers is assisted in his new role by Frank Lampard senior, father of the Chelsea and England midfielder. Another twist to Saturday's game is that Wilkins has been a coach at Watford.

However all eyes will be on the 62-year-old Hiddink, set to combine his Chelsea duties with his current job as manager of the Russian national side.

"He is a good coach and a fantastic man," Chelsea's Brazilian defender Alex, who played under Hiddink at Dutch club PSV Eindhoven, said on Thursday.

"I think he would play a similar system here to what we have seen, and when I was at PSV we played a 4-3-3 system - we had some very exciting times there.

"In my three years in Holland, two of them were with Guus Hiddink and we won the title both times, and the double once, as well as reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League in my first year."

Alex has been back in the Chelsea starting line-up in recent weeks owing to an injury to Ricardo Carvalho.

Chelsea forward Salomon Kalou meanwhile said the club's players needed to show Hiddink they merited a place in the side.

"Chelsea think he is the right man and as a player, I am looking forward to working under him and I will do my best for the team and for him.

"We know he can do it because he did it before, and as a player you have to make the job easy for him."

Kalou insisted the west Londoners remain capable of winning any one of the FA Cup, Premier League and Champions League trophies this season.

"I still believe that we can do that and we have the players and side to do it. We have to get back to positive thinking and try to win games. If you win, the confidence comes back and we have to do it as a team.

"We have a new opportunity to do that now. It starts on Saturday and we have to win."
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