Pointing the finger: Hiddink admits he was bemused
by the Cole's antics - and has told the 28-year-old that his
behaviour was unacceptable
Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink
has laid down the law to England captain John Terry as well as
fining Ashley Cole over his late-night brush with the
law.
The Dutchman had both players in his office yesterday — along
with youngster Michael Mancienne — to leave them in no doubt about
the standards he expects from his players.
Cole has been fined two weeks’ wages — about £164,000 — for the
behaviour at a nightclub which led to his arrest in the early hours
of Thursday. Hiddink admits he was astonished to find himself
forced to confront the issue of discipline with two such
experienced players.
He said: ‘They are human but it is curious that it is these
players. ‘If you drink too much it will set back your physical
condition. We work hard, we try to improve every aspect of the game
but physically you can harm yourself and then you are harming your
team as well. Of course, we talked about that.
‘I don’t come from an innocent country and this is not my first
year in the business. If you fall once into a trap, then you try to
avoid it the second time.’ Cole, 28, was arrested outside a London
nightclub in the early hours of Thursday. He was led away to the
cells and handed an £80 fixed penalty charge for being drunk and
disorderly before he was released at 5.30am.
Mancienne’s inexperience is a mitigating factor but Hiddink
clearly expected better from the other pair. The manager said: ‘I
don’t approve of what happened. They went to dinner, and to a
certain extent they can do that because it was three days before a
game.
‘But you have to know what time to leave and don’t get involved
in what happened. That’s what I’ve emphasised. We ask everyone to
live a proper life. That’s not to say they don’t have the right to
go out, but you must have your own discipline. They’re in a
fantastic job and have this responsibility to themselves, to the
club and to the team.’
Cole issued an apology, claiming he had been ‘harassed by the
paparazzi’. He trained yesterday and is in the squad for today’s FA
Cup quarter-final at Coventry.
Chelsea players are each given a handbook which includes
guidelines on behaviour. Hiddink asks them not to drink alcohol two
days before a game, so the trio were not breaking rules but the
manager told Cole he never wants to see it happen again.
Hiddink said: ‘I’m disappointed and that’s why I spoke to him.
It’s simple — you must not repeat that kind of behaviour. ‘I cannot
and will not control their private lives. They must be intelligent
to have success at a big club and in football.
‘I’m not a police officer or a father figure. I want to have a
very open relationship where I can speak to them directly,
sometimes to hug them a little bit but other times I must be tough.
I am firm with them. I don’t like to cover up.’
Out of order: Hiddink has made it clear that Cole
must not overstep the mark again
Any thoughts Hiddink may have had about dropping Cole were
effectively ended by a serious knee injury to Paulo Ferreira which
rules him out for the rest of the season. With Wayne Bridge sold to
Manchester City in January, Chelsea need Cole, their
only specialist left back, fully focused as they chase the FA Cup,
the Champions League and the Barclays Premier League.
But Chelsea are boosted by the return of Michael Essien and
Ricardo Carvalho to the squad.