Hiddink believes he inherited a lax regime from Scolari...
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February 27, 2009
Guus Hiddink continues get-tough policy at Chelsea
Casual skipper before Hiddink reign... The "new" Chelsea look.
Guus Hiddink has provided further evidence of his intention to get tough with Chelsea’s underachieving players by issuing them with a new list of rules and regulations. The club’s interim manager is a stickler for discipline and has produced a new set of guidelines on dress-code, punctuality and fitness.
The Dutchman has made it clear that he believes he inherited a lax regime from Luiz Felipe Scolari, whom several of Chelsea’s players described as a friend rather than a manager, and has acted immediately to sharpen things up. Hiddink has ordered his players to wear club suits when they report for duty, travel to the stadium for both home and away games and leave the ground afterwards. Hiddink, who wears a suit on the touchline, has also instituted fines for anyone who is late for training.
The 62-year-old’s tough approach could not be more different from that of Scolari, who dressed casually after training and wore a club shell suit on the touchline, an outfit that was also adopted as the players’ uniform on match-days. Hiddink’s attitude also contrasts with that of the club’s owner, Roman Abramovich, who generally attends matches in jeans and a jumper and has never been seen wearing a tie. The players, on the other hand, have been told that they must wear ties with their suits at all times and must ensure that the knot is secured. “Anyone caught with even the knot on their tie loose can be fined £100.”
Hiddink’s focus on dress-codes may appear superficial, but he is genuinely concerned about his players’ fitness levels. He admitted that his side were not in great condition after Wednesday’s 1-0 win over Juventus, having previously noticed fatigue in the second half of their win over Aston Villa last weekend, and has introduced a new series of fitness tests.
Chelsea’s players are unlikely to complain too much as — in addition to their fear of angering Hiddink — they also agree with him. John Terry and Frank Lampard went to see Scolari to ask him to increase the intensity of their training sessions and have now got what they asked for.
MAGICAL TOUCH ... David Blaine shows Didier Drogba a card trick.
Tests to monitor the players’ physical condition have been increased and their diet changed. Wednesday’s match-winner Didier Drogba said: “I think it will be three weeks before I am back to full fitness.
“The second half against Juve was difficult and in one-on-ones I didn’t really have the legs to dribble. “We all feel it. All of us.It was difficult for us. It happened around 70 minutes against Juve and we were heavy legged. We have to improve.”
Juventus midfielder Mauro Camoranesi will miss the return leg in Turin after being diagnosed with a broken rib and a thigh injury.