Buck harbours no Hiddink hopes

Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck admitted it will be hard to see Guus Hiddink walk away from the club after the Dutchman steered the Blues to FA Cup final glory.

Buck ruled out making a last-ditch effort to persuade Hiddink to stay with Chelsea, with the search for his successor under way.

However Hiddink’s short spell in England has been a success and Buck knows the veteran coach will be a hard act to follow.

Buck told Setanta 1: “He’s been loved by the Chelsea fans since the minute he arrived.

“We always knew he was a good guy and he’s proven that so we’re definitely going to miss him.

“There are only a few great coaches in this world and he is one of them.

“But we have known since February he was going to leave so we’ve done our homework and we’ll push on from here.”

When Hiddink came to Chelsea, it was on the understanding he would leave at the end of the season to allow him to focus full time on his duties as head coach of Russia.

Buck will comply with that agreement and stressed he will not be attempting to convince Hiddink to remain at Stamford Bridge.

“He hasn’t gone yet but I think we know that (keeping him) is not on the cards,” Buck said.

“He’s on his way today and he’s got games with Russia next week, so he’s off.”