Petr Cech: New Chelsea Boss Must Grasp Fundamentals

"The strength he has is that he knows what he has in the team. He doesn't ask people to do things that aren't in their character.

"You can see that working perfectly when the manager knows to use the right people for the right jobs."

Cech also said he felt Hiddink had performed the basics well, helping the team gain some consistent form.

"In December and January (under Scolari) we were missing a lot of discipline," he said.

"That, for me, was the key, going back to basics. Basic things we were getting wrong and losing points.

"Everyone knows what the strength of the team was, and in every game he (Hiddink) has used the right players to achieve exactly what we wanted on the pitch.

"When you get that right, everything works. He's not one of the managers who speaks a lot, but every time he says something he's spot on."

Cech hopes that the new manager, whoever it is, will remain at the club for a long period of time in order to give the club stability.

"It's always important to get someone who can stay long-term," Cech continued. "But it's always difficult to see if the person you choose will stay long-term. With Mr Scolari everyone hoped this would be the manager for five years, but it didn't work out.

"Whoever comes next will find a very strong group of players with a lot of experience, great character, and a will to win things and work hard.

"This is the big advantage of the new manager. Here, there is great unity among the players and quality as well.

"Some people might leave, some people might stay, but the core of the team is very strong."

Hiddink will leave the post in the summer and return to managing the Russian national team, with the aim of getting them into the World Cup next year.

Nick Turner, Goal.com