3 Things That Hiddink Must Do To Save Chelsea’s Season

The new Chelsea interim manager Guus Hiddink was in the stands as his new side defeated Sunderland and eased fears of relegation with a 3-1 win at home. Stamford Bridge wasn’t the same as under Jose Mourinho and there was a lot of support for their former manager with many supporters cheering on and singing his name while booing certain players of the team.

Chelsea’s owner Roman Abramovich was also present as he watched his side win for the first time in four Premier League games, even though it was a poor Sunderland side that faced them. Chelsea moved up to 15^th in the table but more importantly, it will be just how Guus takes charge of the team, the second time in his career, especially knowing that many players did have a role to play in the dismissal of their former manager.

Taking over from Mourinho would be no easy task but Hiddink needs to stamp his authority for the remaining part of the season. Here are a few things that Hiddink must do to ensure that his team respond and finish the season on a high.

1. Let them play with freedom

Chelsea often looked a little tight this season and always have looked to be on rails when Mourinho was managing the club. Almost every player was given a proper role and defending was a job that everyone had to do, if they didn’t well they faced the wrath of the manager, like Eden Hazard a couple of years ago.

Hiddink is known for his ‘total-football’ management style and though he doesn’t follow it to an extent where the centre backs play as the forwards and vice versa, he still should provide the team with a degree of freedom and a chance to express themselves. The players do not have to be on chains and maybe playing with some freedom could give them the opportunity to show what they really can do.

2. Drop Diego Costa

This shouldn’t really be a thing that Hiddink should do; this should have been the first thing on his contract when he signed for the club. Diego Costa has caused so many problems for his team, manager and more that he is a liability and with an alleged role in the dismissal of Mourinho, he should be dropped.

He hasn’t even been performing on the pitch and only has three league goals all season. Diego Costa is a rotten egg who could be affecting the rest of the bunch as well. He might have the ability to play good football, but he is more certain of causing fights than anything else, Hiddink is a manager with enormous experience and this is one thing that he has to do quickly to save the team.

3. Stick to a playing XI

Jose Mourinho knew what his best playing XI was, but he couldn’t stick with them since many of them were out of form. He had dropped Terry, Fabregas, Pedro, Costa, Ivanovic and Matic throughout the season and that didn’t help the team. Though he was right to do this, Hiddink shouldn’t experiment much with the team and decide what his best XI is.

Sticking to one side which plays day in and day out will actually help Hiddink and the team perform better. The club did win their match against Sunderland, but Hiddink will have a few plans for the team and if he can implement them, Chelsea could well finish in the top half of the season; of course the real battle for Hiddink would be the Champions League. The club might not be able to finish in the top four, but they can be part of it next season if they win the competition this season. A fitting gift from the manager to the owner maybe?