Not only did the former Blues manager reject the Foxes job but he also told them who they should go with.
Leicester City caretaker manager Craig Shakespeare watches the warm up before the game
Leicester City made the right choice appointing Craig Shakespeare as interim manager rather than going with a more established name.
That is according to the man that turned them down, Guus Hiddink, who told the Foxes he did not want the job after being indirectly approached following the sacking of Claudio Ranieri on February 23.
Not only that, but Hiddink – who twice took charge at Chelsea following the dismissals of Luiz Felipe Scolari in 2009 and Jose Mourinho in 2015 – actually recommended Leicester should appoint Shakespeare.
“They asked not directly but indirectly, but I said no. If you have decided to sack Ranieri, why don’t you go with your number two guy?” the Dutchman told the Sunday Times.
“Shakespeare knows the club, knows the players. Why don’t you go there, you will see what will happen, I said. Happily I was right.”
Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink before the game
Hiddink certainly was right, with the reigning champions’ 2-0 victory over Stoke City their fourth successive league win since Shakespeare took charge – the best ever start by an English manager in the Premier League era
In all competitions he has actually won five, with the 2-0 Champions League triumph over Sevilla to make the Foxes the only English side in the quarter-finals, also coming since Ranieri’s sacking.
As for Hiddink, clearly another rescue mission was not high on the 70-year-old’s list of priorities.
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