Hiddink wanted more time

24 February 2009 19:19
Guus Hiddink has revealed he would have liked more time before being thrown in the deep-end at Chelsea, but says he won't be offering any excuses if success is not immediate.[LNB] The Dutchman took charge of his first game less than a fortnight after former manager Luiz Felipe Scolari was sacked and faces the first-leg of a Champions League clash with Juventus on Wednesday.[LNB]But Hiddink says he will not offer the lack of preparation as an excuse should Chelsea fail to progress to the last eight.[LNB]"I should have two, three or four weeks to observe the team and everything, and then I'd start working," he said.[LNB]"But there's no time. That's not an aspect of top-level sport, to offer excuses. It has to be done in the moment against Villa and what we have now, home and away, against Juventus.[LNB]Pressure"Every manager would like four, five or six weeks to implement a lot of things. But I have to do that in a reduced time, a pressured time. But we have to do it.[LNB]"I'd like to underline, we must not give ourselves an excuse because, if we do, there's a tendency that we go a little bit less and that's not good in the boys' minds."[LNB]Hiddink, who has tasted European glory with PSV Eindhoven in 1988, admitted he is excited to be returning to the Champions League.[LNB]"You are among the elite clubs if you're still in the Champions League after the winter. That's where a club like this needs to be. It's a very exciting competition for all of us," he added.[LNB]"Being in charge for the first time is special. We had a good first game at Villa, so that takes away a little bit of the first excitement.[LNB]"But being in this competition with this home crowd, I think everyone can expect a lot from the team in the way of energy and passion."[LNB]ReturnWednesday night will mark the return of former Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri to Stamford Bridge and Hiddink is well aware of the threat posed by the Juventus boss.[LNB]"He's a gentleman coach. He's very intelligent," the 62-year-old said.[LNB]"Modest is maybe not the word, but he knows how to cope with the press and the pressure in this particular job. I respect him very much.[LNB]"He has several abilities. When he was working here, he made a team that was very competitive for the Premier League.[LNB]"Secondly, recently, he's very good at organising his team. His teams show themselves to have enormous tactical discipline. It's very difficult to play those teams that he is managing."[LNB]

Source: SKY_Sports