Chelsea: Guus Hiddink heaps praise on Matt Miazga following debut performance

Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink is impressed with the way January signing Matt Miazga has carried himself against Aston Villa this weekend and believes that the 20-year-old will get a lot of opportunities to prove himself until the end of the season, with John Terry and Gary Cahill out through injury. The Blues signed Miazga in January from MLS franchisee New York Red Bulls and Hiddink believes that he still has to attune himself to the rigours of the Premier League.

"To be honest this wasn't the toughest game," Hiddink said, as quoted by ESPN. "You have to consider also when a real good war is going on how you cope with that, but it's a good first step up for him.

"He's coming from a league that is a bit naive compared to the Premier League, and he has to get used to a little more freedom given to the attackers by the referees, which I like. He has to cope with a little bit of a shuffle, of a push that in other leagues the referee would give free kicks for. That's the naivety he has to leave as soon as possible but I didn't see much of that [against Aston Villa]."

The defending Champions made easy work of Aston Villa, beating them 4-0 with goals from Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Alexandre Pato and a second-half brace from Pedro Rodriguez to close the gap on Liverpool, who drew against Tottenham. A top four finish looks off the table, with the Blues now 10 points behind fourth placed Manchester City, with only seven games left in the season.

However, Hiddink believes it is a great time for him to bring in a few youngsters to the squad and experiment with them for next season, especially with their fate all but decided in the league.

"This club has brilliant players -- world-class, experienced players and also young and up-and-coming players like Ruben [Loftus-Cheek] and Jake [Clarke-Salter] that train with the first team," Hiddink said. "The club's in good hands so we've just got to work hard on the training pitch, focus on ourselves and contribute in any way we can.

"I just control what I can control, which is to work hard in training and hopefully give the manager a decision to make. If I get chances, I'll take them," he added.