Buck: Blues boss search underway

13 April 2009 14:30
Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck has confirmed the Blues have started the search for a new manager to replace interim boss Guus Hiddink. Following Luiz Felipe Scolari's sacking in February, the Blues agreed a deal for Hiddink to take charge until the end of the season. The Blues squad want the Dutchman to remain at the helm permanently, but Hiddink insists he will be leaving in the summer to focus on his role as Russia's national team coach. Buck reiterated Hiddink is only at the club on a short-term basis and revealed the quest to appoint a new boss is underway, with AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti having been heavily linked with the role. "Guus Hiddink came here on a temporary basis two months ago and it is thanks to the Russian FA that he was able to come here," Buck told Chelsea's official website. "It is purely a temporary role. "There has been a lot of speculation about him staying, particularly as he has been doing a great job. That will not be the case. "It is now up to the board to find a new manager for the long term and that is a process that we have started and is ongoing. "Anything you might read is just speculation at this stage. When we have an agreement for our new manager we will announce it." Jose Mourinho has been linked with a return to Stamford Bridge, but Buck says the Inter Milan coach will not manage Chelsea for a second time. "My honest answer is that I don't think it is likely to happen," added Buck. "Jose was a great coach, he is a great guy, but I think his time at Chelsea Football Club has passed." Of Mourinho's departure in September 2007, Buck said: "Well, first of all we didn't fire him, it was mutual that he left the club. There is not much more we can say than in September 2007. "The board and Jose were not seeing eye-to-eye on a number of things and it was time we parted company. "We have great respect, obviously, for what he did for Chelsea Football Club. We are on great terms with him."

Source: Eurosport