Chelsea's Hiddink hopes for FA Cup bounce
Milton Keynes (United
Kingdom) (AFP) - Chelsea's dismal Premier League title defence means the
FA Cup now carries even greater significance as interim manager Guus
Hiddink attempts to avoid a trophy-free end to the season.
Hiddink's side travel to
struggling second-tier side Milton Keynes Dons in the competition's
fourth round on Sunday and having finally struck a decent vein of form,
they will be expected to progress comfortably.
With
next month's Champions League last 16 game against Paris Saint-Germain
looming, the FA does not represent the Stamford Bridge club's last
chance of silverware.
But it
is probably their most realistic chance of salvaging a trophy from a
calamitous campaign and Hiddink is keen to repeat his success of 2009,
when he led the club to FA Cup success against Everton.
"It's not just for me," he said. "I think a club like Chelsea must always go for a title.
"The
targets in the past were the Premier League, the Champions League and
the FA Cup. We aim the group for targets. The FA Cup is a target."
Hiddink has overseen a marked
improvement in form since being asked to take charge until the end of
the season following Jose Mourinho's dismissal in December.
Chelsea
remain in the bottom half of the league table, but a run of seven games
without defeat under the Dutchman –- culminating in last weekend's 1-0
victory at Arsenal –- has transformed the mood at the club.
Hiddink believes a cup run can only help his team's efforts to improve their standing in the league.
"Every
win helps, even in training, where we play to win," he said. "The
attitude now is there to give everything in every duel, as a team and as
individuals. It will help, of course.
"I
don't want to say that (the cup is more important) because we'd be
neglecting the beauty of the Premier League, but the next step is about
Sunday.
"I don't want to disrespect the Premier League, but that's after Sunday."
- 'Enjoy the experience' -
Eden
Hazard is in line to make his first appearance for four weeks after
recovering from a groin problem, but Loic Remy is expected to be missing
from the squad with a groin injury.
Alexandre
Pato has not yet completed his loan move from Corinthians, while
Radamel Falcao remains injured, leaving Diego Costa as Chelsea's only
available senior striker.
Chelsea were humiliated in the FA Cup
last season by third-tier Bradford City, who turned on the style to win
4-2 at Stamford Bridge.MK Dons, then in the same division as Bradford, also produced a cup shock against a giant of the Premier League, beating Manchester United 4-0 in the League Cup.
Manager Karl Robinson is hopeful his players can replicate that performance and keep believing that Chelsea can be beaten.
"On the day the players have to perform," he said. "All the prep and hard work that goes into every game doesn't mean anything if we go and freeze.
"I know they won't. I know we'll try to do our best. The last words I'll say will be, 'Go and enjoy the experience.'
"It's going to be a wonderful experience, playing against some of the best players in the world."
The
game is worth around £500,000 ($711,000, 657,000 euros) to the
Championship strugglers, who expect a sell-out crowd of more than
30,000. Almost £150,000 of that will come from television fees.
Striker
Nicky Maynard is a doubt because of a hamstring injury, but defender
Kyle McFadzean is back from a ban and on-loan forward Rob Hall is in
contention after being ineligible for last weekend's 3-1 defeat at
parent club Bolton Wanderers.
Former England defender Matthew Upson is out injured, however, along with Ben Reeves and Carl Baker.
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