Guus Hiddink - file

LONDON (AP)

Guus Hiddink agreed yesterday to manage Chelsea until the end of the season, while continuing to coach Russia's national team.

Chelsea said the 62-year-old Dutchman will meet his new players later this week ahead of Saturday's FA Cup match at Watford. He replaces Luiz Felipe Scolari, who was fired on Monday after seven months as manager.

Hiddink said he was taking the Chelsea job out of solidarity with owner Roman Abramovich, who is the financial backer of the Russian national team.

"There's a special relationship between Russian and Chelsea by Roman Abramovich," Hiddink said on Sky Sports. "He asked me and the federation to help out because he's doing a lot for the federation and Russian football, and it's an exception because we try to help each other."

Simple time

Hiddink will remain as Russia coach as the team seeks to qualify for the 2010 World Cup.

"It's the sort of situation that everyone needs to get what's best for themselves," Hiddink told Russian television from the team's training camp in Turkey. "It's not a simple time for people, including for the (Russian Football Union).

Hiddink hasn't ruled out staying at Chelsea permanently.

Russia has two World Cup qualifying games over the course of the rest of the English league season, at home to Azerbaijan on March 28 and away to Liechtenstein four days later.

Those dates should not conflict with Chelsea league games, and the qualifiers are games Russia should win comfortably as it chases Germany for the top spot in Group 4.

The Chelsea job will be Hiddink's first with a top European side since a stint in 1998 at Real Madrid, which lasted less than a year before being fired.

Hiddink won domestic and European club titles with PSV Eindhoven and, at international level, led the Netherlands to the 1998 World Cup semifinals, South Korea to the same stage four years later and took underdog Australia to the second round in 2006.