Good riddance You'll see the best of me now Scolari...
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DETERMINED ... Didier Drogba
DIDIER DROGBA admits he is desperate to prove he can still be a force at Chelsea.
Drogba, 30, has struggled for form and fitness this season after a series of injuries. He failed to impress former boss Phil Scolari but is confident he can win a regular place under Guus Hiddink.
The striker said: "When you are sidelined for four months like I was, and then you return and get injured again, it isn't easy. "The important thing for me now is simply to be on the pitch.
"It is up to me to show that I deserve to be on the pitch. I haven't lost my instincts, I just lacked matches. "If you want to improve your condition, it is better to be on the pitch. "Training is all well and good but playing for 90 minutes is better."
Scolari refused to partner Drogba in attack with Nicolas Anelka but the duo are confident they can rescue Chelsea's season.
Anelka hit a hat-trick as the Blues bounced back to beat Watford in the FA Cup fifth round. And Drogba is looking forward to playing alongside the Frenchman more often.
He added: "There is something between us. We are both quite intelligent players who know how to play together and create spaces for one another. "It is a long time since he scored and then he scores three — three real striker's goals. "I hope that will provide him with a boost because the team needs him."
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Good riddance: You'll see the best of me now that Scolari has gone, insists Chelsea's Drogba
Over the blues: Didier Drogba goes in on Watford's Jay DeMerit on Saturday
Didier Drogba is confident of recapturing his best form now that Guus Hiddink is in charge at Chelsea. The Ivory Coast striker started only his ninth game of the season in the 3-1 FA Cup win at Watford on Saturday, having been frozen out for much of Luiz Felipe Scolari’s spell at the club.
Drogba has been frustrated watching Chelsea struggle from the sidelines and in what appeared to be a swipe at Scolari said: 'It’s always good for a player to be on the pitch and it’s always better to have some games.
'I hope I will get back to my best before the end of the season. I have been off the pitch for about five months. I hope now to show that I deserve to play, because for me it is important.
'Now we have to look forward because we have big games coming and we have to concentrate on them.
'In football anything can happen. We want to see how far we can go. What we can achieve. I think we showed [against Watford] we want to get to another FA Cup Final.'
Fellow striker Nicolas Anelka also had a dig at his Brazilian former boss after finally getting a chance to play with Drogba up front.
Back in the fold: Drogba celebrates with goalscorer Nicolas Anelka (right) and Salomon Kalou (left) at Vicarage Road
Scolari started the duo only once before he was fired, but they were impressive at Vicarage Road, especially in the last 20 minutes when Chelsea played in a 4-4-2 formation.
Anelka, who scored a hat-trick, said: 'Of course we can work as a partnership for Chelsea. I have said it before and so has Didier but we’ve never tried us playing together.
'In 20 minutes, we scored three goals. To play with Didier up front changed the game and that’s why we scored the goals and won the game. It was me scoring this time, but it might be Didier next time. That’s good for Chelsea
Hiddink is expected to take his first training session today having agreed to take charge for the rest of the season last week. The Dutchman sat next to owner Roman Abramovich to watch his new team beat Watford and defender Michael Mancienne, who was making his debut, insists his presence has already given the squad a boost.
Mancienne said: 'It’s good to see the owner so close to the manager. It’s good to see him coming to watch his team and it does give the boys confidence. 'Hiddink has been in and around the training ground the past few days and has come up to the lads and had a word with everyone. He seems genuine to me.
'He’s basically said that we’ve got good players and a very strong squad, but he’s just going to give us a bit of structure. 'Instead of our wing-backs pushing too high up like we have been doing in the past few games he wants one of them to cover back when the play is around the other side.
'He reinforced a few things and had a lot of tactical input before the game.'
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No goals, no talk
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Wah, suddenly this Drogba really scoring lots of goals now... Looks like his problems was Scolari afterall... These last 4 matches he scored a few match winners liao... Wonder what Scolari has to say now...
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if hiddink was in charge of chelsea at the start of this season, I wonder what will their league position be right now.