Hiddink hints at England return

Turkey manager Guus Hiddink spoke of his temptation to return to English football after failing to lead Turkey to the Euro 2012 finals.

The 65-year-old is expected to be relieved of his duties as Turkey coach after his side were knocked out of the Euro 2012 qualifiers by Croatia, who won their playoff 3-0 on aggregate.

All three goals were conceded in Istanbul last week, before a goalless stalemate in Zagreb on Tuesday ended Turkey’s hopes of reaching next year’s finals in Poland and Ukraine.

Hiddink, who was in charge of Chelsea as a caretaker manager in 2009, hinted at a possible return to England and said he is not ready to retire.

“I’ve not made up my mind about the future yet,” Hiddink said.

“I’m going to take some time off and then we will see what happens, but I had a wonderful time in England.”

“It was great at Chelsea, a terrific time, but that doesn’t mean I am ready to start tomorrow. I need some time to reflect.”

“I’m not ready to retire, I like to be involved with a team on a daily basis, but maybe I am ready to step out of the limelight a little bit, away from the cameras.”

“Hopefully I will still be involved but perhaps it will be as an adviser or a consultant. I’d like to give advice here and there in order to help new people to take over from the old guard.”

Hiddink offered praise to the Croatians and said he would not return to Istanbul immediately, admitting that it could be his last game in charge of Turkey.

“I congratulate (Slaven) Bilic and Croatia, they deserved to go to the Euro,” he said.

“There is a big possibility that this was my last match as Turkey’s coach, actually I don’t intend to return to Istanbul since I need a vacation.”

Croatian skipper Darijo Srna said that his country’s elimination to Turkey in the Euro 2008 quarter-finals gave his side added motivation ahead of the second leg.

“We played a solid game,” Srna said.

“This time we were focused until the end and did not let Turkey kick us out as they did in Austria in 2008.”

“After the first match there was euphoria in Croatia, but we decided to play as we did in Istanbul. The Turks were playing for all or nothing but we showed character.”