Ray Wilkins thinks Guus Hiddink will bring the fun back to Chelsea

Ray Wilkins has backed Guus Hiddink to bring the "fun" back to Chelsea. The 59-year-old pundit, who was Hiddink's assistant during his previous spell in charge of the club, expects the Dutch boss to lift the gloom surrounding the squad during the last days of Jose Mourinho's reign.

Wilkins said that while Hiddink is hard-working and thoroughly professional, there is also a light-hearted side to his work on the training field. His former assistant thinks it is exactly the right approach following Mourinho's sacking last month.

"I never worked with Jose Mourinho, but having had the pleasure of working with Guus, if the atmosphere was intense under Jose, it will be completely the opposite with Guus," Wilkins told Sky Sports News. "He will demand they train well and demand they play to a very high standard but the training will be of a very jovial fashion.

"I think you have seen him interviewed on numerous occasions and he's made it quite clear he wants them to work extremely hard and if they don't have the application then go and have a conversation with him and it will be a short conversation. Straight away, he wants them to work hard but it will be fun all the way with Guus."

Wilkins also said Chelsea's Champions League last 16 tie against Paris Saint Germain will have a big bearing on whether Hiddink remains with the club beyond the end of the current season.

"Last time he was here, he was adamant it was from the February through to the end of the season," said Wilkins, who worked alongside Hiddink at Chelsea in 2009. "But when he was interviewed at the weekend, he didn't rule out the fact that he wouldn't be here next year, so it would be interesting to see how they go, first and foremost, because they have started well under Guus but they have got to progress and do really well.

"The Champions League is vitally important for him as well with a very tough couple of games coming up against Paris Saint-Germain."

Meanwhile, Wilkins also admitted a top four finish was beyond Chelsea's reach this season. "I don't think they can do it, but mathematically they can, and Guus is the most positive man on the planet," he said.

"The next games they play are West Brom, in midweek, and they play Everton on the Saturday, both home games, both with teams who are above them and they have an opportunity to take six points there playing at home, so it is going to be a very interesting period."