Hiddink wary of hungry Magpies

Anzhi Makhachkala boss Guus Hiddink has warned his players to beware Newcastle's hunger for more European football.

Last Updated: 07/03/13 at 08:55 Post Comment

Guus Hiddink: Wary of Newcastle

Guus Hiddink: Wary of Newcastle

The Magpies will run out at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow tonight knowing their only realistic chance of securing another season of continental action is winning the Europa League this time around.

That may be a tall order for Alan Pardew's men, but Hiddink insists Newcastle, like the rest of their last 16 rivals, will all have hopes of taking part in the final in Amsterdam in May.

He said: "I am sure they also have aims of being in Amsterdam on May 15, that's what I've heard.

"There will be no difference in their attitude. They won't think, 'We have to play on Saturday or Sunday in the Premier League, we will take this game for granted'. No way whatsoever."

Anzhi booked their showdown with the Magpies by defeating German side Hannover over two legs despite the games coming during their domestic mid-season break.

However, Hiddink is confident that will be irrelevant tomorrow night with his players gearing up for the resumption of their league campaign.

He said: "We will go into the Russian league on the coming Sunday, but knowing my team, they like to play every game - every training session when there are games played, it is a full contest.

"That for us is very good because sometimes you have to consider where you came from a year ago, when we were ninth in the Russian league and it wasn't as much of a well organised and ambitious team that we had at that moment when we started.

"If you see now where Anzhi is - second in the league, in the Russian Cup and survived until the round after the winter period in the Europa League - we must look backwards also to know where we came from.

"We can be proud so far, but this doesn't give us a seat to settle down and say, 'Ah, that's enough'.

"No. I like to extend always the borders of the team, and the team is living up to that."

Hiddink last came up against Newcastle during his brief spell as Chelsea boss when the Blues won 2-0 at St James' Park in April 2009, a result which helped to dash the Magpies' hopes of climbing out of relegation trouble.

Just four men who played in that game - Steve Harper, Ryan Taylor, Fabricio Coloccini and Jonas Gutierrez - remain on the Tyneside club's books. None of them are likely to figure in Russia.

But Hiddink is wary of the talent at Pardew's disposal.

He said: "[Shola] Ameobi, [Papiss] Cisse, [Moussa] Sissoko - all the players are technically skilful, but also in the athletic part of the game, they are very powerful.

"It's a team I think now has a good balance in their defence, although there might be some changes. But if Coloccini cannot play, [Steven] Taylor can play, [Mapou] Yanga-Mbiwa can play. They are strong."

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