Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink has revealed the advice he shared with his players upon his arrival at the club following the departure of Jose Mourinho.
The London club never really mounted a title defence such was the limpness in which they began the 2015/2015 campaign. Last season’s key performers Eden Hazard, Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa all started the season very poorly, with some supporters slamming them for Mourinho’s dismissal.
Furthermore, following a run in the Premier League of nine defeats in 16 games, Roman Abramovich acted boldly by sacking the club’s most successful manager, bringing in Hiddink for his second spell as interim boss.
The Dutchman’s first port of call was to address the early season disarray, before implementing his own plan to restore the Chelsea fans’ faith.
”Of course, the fans were disappointed with half of the season, with what was going on and with the performances,” Hiddink is quoted by the Mirror as saying.
”The crowd were fully entitled to react as they did in the first two or three games, and that’s why the team had to react. We talked about it and I told them, ‘The key is to react and to get the support of the crowd again.’
”You cannot ask the crowd, ‘Please, don’t think about what happened and the bad results.
”The team have to show their desire to play again and then the crowd, as they have done in the last few games, will start supporting. We received some tremendous support here.”
The 69-year-old’s wisdom appears to have provided the perfect antidote to chaos orchestrated under Mourinho. The Blues are on an 11-game unbeaten run in the Premier League, having conceded only 11 goals in that time frame, readopting Chelsea’s classic identity of being almost clinically efficient.
However, recent weeks have seen a more adventurous streak feature in the club’s play, with expansive 5-1 victories against Newcastle United in the league and Manchester City in the FA Cup puncturing their recent run of tight draws and narrow victories.
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