Guus Hiddink comments on John Terry's contract, Eden Hazard's 50th Chelsea goal

In his pre-match press conference ahead of today's game against Watford, interim manager Guus Hiddink was asked about the biggest Chelsea story of the transfer window, the potential departure of captain John Terry. For Hiddink, who of course worked with Terry back in 2009 as well, there's still hope that the defender might stay at the club for a while longer.

"I like very much the way he is playing, and that he is committed to the team. John is doing perfectly in his performances, he can carry on [playing], of course. He is fit, his ambition is enough to carry on."

"The door is not shut, dialogue is always possible. But John's statistics, and not just that but also the view I have on him [show] that he is very fit. He is not what you normally see in a 35-year-old player, that you feel you are getting a bit slower, and cannot accept that you are in a danger zone for red cards."

"But none of that for John. He is fit and is performing as [well as] he has been while I have been here. And he will do. We have spoken about that, and he will be professional, but also work hard as well."

-Guus Hiddink; source: The Independent

John Terry has been at Chelsea for 21 years, and a 'break-up' at this point would be something quite painful to deal with not only for the fans but for the institution as well. Hiddink pointed out that while 'no one is irreplaceable', Terry's exit will certainly have a great impact.

"I can say, theoretically, that no one is irreplaceable. But [Terry] has been of huge impact, has been and will be in the upcoming games, in the dressing room but also on the pitch. He has this presence, a very good presence, with the group in the dressing room."

"It will be a new situation, if it happens. But let's see what will happen in the short future. There are new leaders coming up in the group. For every player or manager, the age comes when you have to say goodbye to people."

"It is difficult. I can help him prepare. I had the same experience because I loved the game so much and quitting is difficult."

-Guus Hiddink; source: The Independent

Incidentally, Hiddink himself has been rumored to be ready to step aside after this season, not just from Chelsea but from football management itself, but has pointed out recently that he's "only human" and humans can be tempted to reconsider their stance.

On a more positive note, the weekend's result against MK Dons saw Oscar get a first-half hat-trick and Eden Hazard finally ending his 270-day goalscoring drought through a penalty kick. Hiddink commented on the latter, and pointing out that the lack of goals is not the main issue, getting Hazard back to consistently playing at a high-level is.

"I don't know if that goal is a big, big issue. Eden scored although the ball was rather static and of course you would prefer to make a goal from an open-play attack, which is the next step, but I think he is not so worried about that."

"The key for him and for us is that he is coming to the level where he can play repeatedly and do a lot of actions. That is why we started him and he played one hour."

"He came back from a long-time injury and still has to step up to a higher physical level which he has done now in a game but also needs to do in training. That is what he needs for now, for the next weeks and also for the summer."

-Guus Hiddink; source: Chelsea FC

Hiddink has repeatedly talked about Hazard's physical fitness recently; will be interesting to see how many of this week's three matches Chelsea's reigning Player of the Year will end up starting.