Chelsea
manager Guus Hiddink has already started work on what could be his
toughest job back at Stamford Bridge - eking some sort of form out of
loan flop Radamel Falcao.
Hiddink
took to the pitches at Cobham for the first time in his second Chelsea
spell on Sunday, leading a short session with the injured Colombian
forward as the rest of his side took the day off.
Preparations
for the post-Jose Mourinho era are already underway, with Hiddink
confirming talks with club legend Didier Drogba over a Stamford Bridge
return to be his assistant manager.
Guus Hiddink and Chelsea club doctor Paco Biosca watch Radamel Falcao train at Cobham on Sunday
Falcao has been out for over a month with a muscular injury and new boss Hiddink was checking up on him
Biosca makes a point to the newly-appointed Chelsea manager on his first day working back at Cobham
Biosca and Hiddink share a laugh while overseeing the recovery session for Chelsea's injured loanee
Hiddink worked at Cobham during his first spell at Chelsea in 2009 and he was back at their HQ on Sunday
The
Montreal Impact striker watched Saturday's 3-1 win over Sunderland
alongside the Dutch coach in Roman Abramovich's box before they met the
squad after the game.
Hiddink
was joined at Cobham by club doctor Paco Biosca as they kept a close
eye on Falcao while he continued his recovery from a muscular injury
picked up in training in early November.
Jose
Mourinho failed to lead the loanee to a return to form following
similar struggles at Manchester United last season, with the
once-prolific hitman having scored just once this campaign.
Hiddink
watched Mourinho-less Chelsea see of fellow strugglers Sunderland on
Saturday, flanked by Drogba, and he has since confirmed that plans are
in place to bring the Ivorian icon back.
'I'd
be happy to have him here,' Hiddink said of the striker who scored 11
goals under him in his half-season at Chelsea last time around. 'At the
moment he is still attached to his contract in Canada. But it is
intended that he's involved.'
The
new boss had been out of work since resigning as Holland manager after a
disastrous European Championship qualifying campaign.
Falcao is working on a return to fitness after missing over a month, with a return now on the horizon
Hiddink makes a point to Biosca as they watch the out-of-sorts injured forward go through the motions
Hiddink confirmed that he intends to bring Didier Drogba back to Stamford Bridge to work with the squad
'It all went pretty fast with Chelsea. They first got in contact on Thursday,' Hiddink told De Tafel van Kees.
'If
Chelsea call and say "we have a moment of pain and we are at the
bottom, you can come" then Guus Hiddink says yes. It's a great
challenge.'
Drogba's
influence - should he be added to the depleted backroom staff following
Mourinho's exit - could be key to the fortunes of both Falcao and
fellow striker Diego Costa.
Drogba is still under contract with Montreal Impact and, as it stands, would return to MLS in March
Diego Costa has been unable to find the form he showed last season, but Drogba could be on hand to help
Costa
was off the pace again in the win over Sunderland and Drogba, who
effectively acted as his mentor last term, may be tasked with geeing the
star forward up into his old menacing self.
Falcao,
meanwhile, needs to start showing some talent soon with Chelsea already
thinking about a way to offload him in the January transfer window.
Hiddink's
first game will be against high-flying Watford at Stamford Bridge on
Boxing Day, followed by a tricky trip to out-of-sorts Manchester United
on December 28.
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