Interim Chelsea boss Guus Hiddink spoke about Chelsea and the club’s crisis ahead of taking charge of his very first game in his second spell at Stamford Bridge.
The former Netherlands manager was previously named caretaker manager back in 2009, having lost only once before vacating the seat at the end of the season, and now finds himself in the very same spot after Mourinho’s sacking.
Tasked with saving the remainded of the Blues’ season, the 69-year-old admitted that solving the club's current problems may prove challenging, saying:
"If you look back a bit to last season where there was this huge success in winning the title then of course you go into the next season and you have your targets, your aims and your aims are the same.
"Getting the championship again, even though in the Premier League that is not easy, that was the main target. The other targets of course are to go into the Champions League and the FA Cup.
"But it is not easy to fix as sometimes after a championship you might relax a bit as a team and then you get a wake-up call from somewhere in September, but the situation is that they were down last week to one point off the relegation zone, which was frightening for everyone inside the club.
"It is not easy to say 'I am here and tomorrow the problem is solved'."
The London giants, who face a tricky home clash with Watford on Boxing Day, sit in 15th spot, 11 points behind fourth-placed Tottenham. Nonetheless, Hiddink claims that clinching a Champions League spot remains a possibility, though it will be an uphill battle.
"Mathematically it is possible, if you can add up then it is possible but this league is very strong," added the Dutchman.
"That has been especially proven this year with all respect to the clubs at the top - Leicester, Crystal Palace, Watford - it is amazing and refreshing.
"It means that all the teams can kill each other."
