By Soccernet.com
Chelsea's top stars have come out in support of Guus Hiddink as they look to keep their season alive.
The Dutch coach was brought in until the end of the season after Luiz Felipe Scolari lost his way at Stamford Bridge.
There was talk of unrest in the dressing room and the players being split into different camps but they were all singing from the same hymn sheet about the new man and his impact.
"There is a difference in the players,'' said Chelsea full-back Ashley Cole. "When a manager goes it is always hard and the players liked him (Scolari), but now it is a fresh start for a lot of players and I think there is a different kind of belief.''
Midfielder Frank Lampard hopes Chelsea can build on recent performances to re-ignite their title bid.
"It is just a start for us. In league terms we are not where we should be,'' he said. "Villa was a good result for us and again we had a good result (againstJuventus).
"It was not the best performance over 90 minutes, but there were times when weplayed well.''
Striker Didier Drogba believes he is getting back to his best form thanks to the faith shown in him by Hiddink after being marginalised under Scolari.
"You haven't lost your Drogba, he was just not playing,'' said the forward, having started the last two games in his preferred central striking role. "Being judged when you are playing is much easier, and to the contrary, when you are not playing you can be criticised.
"At the moment I feel good when I am on the pitch and I make the most of those priceless moments. I am not at my best because I think I need more games, but I am giving what I can at the moment.
"The truth is that the coach relies on me, which is a massive psychological boost for a striker. Physically, I am not ready yet, but I need to play to get back in good form. There is no sense of revenge at all, that's my game and that's it.
"I have always been like that, I try to give my maximum and sometimes it is with success.''
Drogba added: "You can see from the last two games that Hiddink is working a lot on the shape of the team, the organisation.
"You have to respect that because we know we will have chances to score goals.''
''Chelsea are lacking a midfielder like (Michael) Essien. (John Obi) Mikel is still not up to his level. If (Mohamed) Sissoko plays like he did on Saturday, Chelsea should be worried.''
Vialli added: ''There will be fantastic duels. (Didier) Drogba and (Nicolas) Anelka against (Nicola) Legrottaglie and (Giorgio) Chiellini; (Alessandro) Del Piero and Amauri against (John) Terry and Alex.
Manchester drew with Inter, Arsenal won against Roma and I believe Chelsea can put up a good fight and win this one against the Italian Legends!
The Blues are 10 points adrift of Premier League leaders Manchester United and their hopes of winning the title are slim at best.
But Hiddink has promised to deliver silverware before he returns to his full-time role as Russia coach in May.
He said: "Time is limited but we are still in three competitions — the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup.
"We're 10 points down on Manchester United, which will be very difficult but we will give it a try. We must, and we will, give it a try.
"In the other two competitions Chelsea are still in the race — that's the challenge.
"I'm not just here to pass time until the end of the season.
"The players are used to winning trophies so let's try and repeat it. If they don't you can't be happy."
Hiddink takes charge of Chelsea for the first time tomorrow.
And the Dutchman knows his side will not be in for an easy ride against high-flying Aston Villa.
He added: "If you see the record of Villa recently, they have a very good period of winning games home and away.
"If they keep doing what they are doing, they're in a good position and we need to change places with them as soon as possible.
"It’s tough but we want to play."
source: Thesun.co.uk
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Despite leading the scoring charts, some quarters have blamed the French striker for failing to forge a working partnership with Didier Drogba at Chelsea.
But Tigers boss Brown, who was a coach at Bolton before Anelka's 18-month spell at the Reebok, claims Le Sulk is nothing but a positive influence.
He said: "I have to say I disagree with comments that Anelka is too selfish and that he’s not a team player.
“I never really worked with Anelka at Bolton, but I have it on the very soundest of authority that he is a top man to have in your dressing room.
“He always trains with a smile on his face, he’s a happy kid...it is not true that he is bad for team morale.
"Anelka and Drogba can undoubtedly play together. It’s just the way Chelsea want to play.
"Luiz Felipe Scolari wanted to play 4-3-3 so one of them didn’t fit.
“Anelka’s a striker, of course he’s going to lose patience if he’s suddenly stuck out on the left wing or the right wing.”
sources: thesun.co.uk
Jose Mourinho has paved the way for a stunning return as Chelsea manager by saying he thinks he will back at Stamford Bridge as Blues boss. (News of the World)
Guus Hiddink is ready to become Chelsea manager on a permanent basis despite the club's insistence the Dutchman's tenure is temporary. (Observer)
Sacked Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari will be offered a sensational second shot at Premier League management by Manchester City. (News of the World)
Paris St Germain's former Chelsea midfielder Claude Makelele says he is ready to quit football at the end of the season. (Sunday Times)
Manchester City will make a £20m move for John Terry in the summer - believing the England captain is becoming increasingly disillusioned with Chelsea. (Sunday Express)
Chelsea have confirmed that Guus Hiddink will take control of the club on a temporary basis until the end of the season.
Empics
Guus Hiddink: The man with the plan.
The 62-year-old Russia coach, who replaces Brazilian Luiz Felipe Scolari after his sacking on Monday, will meet the Chelsea players later this week.
Chelsea's Russian owner Roman Abramovich made Hiddink his primary target following the club's decision to dismiss Scolari and used his close ties with the Russian FA to broker a deal.
After expressing ''delight'' at agreeing a deal with Hiddink, a statement on the Chelsea website said: ''[We] would like to take this opportunity to thank the Russian Football Union for their understanding and cooperation''.
Hiddink will combine his responsibilities with the Russian national team with his role at Chelsea, something he has done in the past with Australia and PSV Eindhoven.
Before the deal was confirmed Hiddink said: ''Abramovich does so much for Russian football that I wanted to do something back.''
The Dutchman is expected to begin his tenure on February 21 with a tough match against third-placed Aston Villa at Villa Park, followed by a clash with Juventus in the last 16 of the Champions League.
Hiddink will attend Chelsea's FA Cup fifth round tie away to Watford on Saturday where he will run the rule over his new team ahead of his appointment.
Commenting on the job ahead Hiddink said: ''It's never enough time to prepare a team in one week but this is an exceptional situation. Chelsea have good players and they should be in top form and that should make my job easier.''
Asked if he intended to bring any assistants with him to Stamford Bridge, the 62-year-old replied: ''Not at this time.''
''I always want to see the situation in the team myself first before making any changes if they have to be made.''
Hiddink, whose contract with Russia runs until the end of the 2010 World Cup, also indicated that he had given little thought to staying at Chelsea beyond the end of the current campaign.
''There are two scenarios: it goes bad and they say 'go back east' or it goes well, but I'm not thinking that far ahead,'' the Dutchman concluded.
Hiddink has never before coached in England and has been out of club management since leaving PSV Eindhoven to take over Australia in 2006.
Hiddink is currently in Turkey with the Russian national side and is likely to fly to England on Thursday, before linking up with his new charges for the first time, probably on Friday.
sources: soccernet.com
"Luiz Felipe Scolari has been dismissed as manager of Chelsea Football Club today (Monday) with immediate effect.
The Chelsea board would like to place on record our gratitude for his time as manager.
Felipe has brought many positives to the club since he joined and we all feel a sense of sadness that our relationship has ended so soon.
Unfortunately the results and performances of the team appeared to be deteriorating at a key time in the season.
In order to maintain a challenge for the trophies we are still competing for we felt the only option was to make the change now.
The search for a new manager has already started and we hope to have someone in place as soon as possible.
While that continues Assistant Coach Ray Wilkins will take charge of the team on a temporary basis. "
