GUUS Hiddink has firmly reminded Ashley Cole of his responsibilities but has not axed him from his squad following the Chelsea player's arrest for being drunk and disorderly.
The club's interim coach also had stern words with club captain John Terry and Michael Mancienne, after all three broke club rules by being out in the early hours of the morning just days before a crucial cup tie.
The trio were at the Collection nightclub in Brompton Road, Kensington, on Thursday morning - but Cole was the only one to be arrested by police.
The England left-back was detained at around 2.15am and later given an £80 fixed penalty for being drunk and disorderly, after he refused to curb his foul language.
Cole was unhappy that paparazzi photographers had taken his picture inside a restaurant but still launched a tirade of foul-mouthed abuse at police officers who had repeatedly asked him to calm down.
He was released from a custody suite just after 5.30am and did not train yesterday. He later issued a public apology to the police but felt the wrath of Hiddink earlier today at the club's Cobham training ground.
Hiddink, who has taken over from sacked Luiz Felipe Scolari until the end of the season, bravely responded to questions about Cole's behaviour at the club's pre-match press conference.
Hiddink maintained that Cole will be in the squad to face Coventry tomorrow - but with Paulo Ferreira out for the rest of the season because of ligament damage, the Dutchman is now short of options at left-back.
The manager stopped short of saying Cole had been fined by the club but did reveal he had spoken firmly to his defender and had words with Terry and Mancienne about being out so late before a game.
"I spoke with Ashley this morning in private," said Hiddink.
"He explained the details of what happened.
"I am a disciplinarian, but every case is different. You have to judge what the circumstances were, and that's why I tackled him on his behaviour.
"He said he was, in his opinion, harassed a little bit by the photographers and that is why he reacted. Afterwards, he regretted that.
"At that moment they are out of the rules which are set by the club to a certain extent before a game. I spoke firmly to him and the captain and Michael Mancienne.
"Ashley will be in the squad for tomorrow. He has publicly apologised about his conduct and behaviour to the police officer, and it is a rather private matter.
"We have an internal discipline, and this is to be considered internal. I have spoken firmly with him about his responsibility.
"There are rules inside this club regarding going out and also discipline, so I had a firm talk with him and the rest of the group about this.
"What is normal and good in this is that he apologised for his abusive behaviour to the police officer.
"He went a little bit too far. This is a country where we like to emphasise big things. The truth has to be told and the facts have to be told.
"If he regrets it deeply and makes his apologies directly then we have to close the case. That is why I tried to go with the daily routine, because we have an FA Cup match tomorrow.
"But they must not repeatedly show conduct which is counter-productive to the team. We, as a club, are talking firmly."
Chelsea's troubled season could be further defined inside the next five days.
They must overcome Coca-Cola Championship Coventry at the Ricoh Arena to reach the last four of the FA Cup and then take a one-goal lead to Juventus in the return leg of their last-16 Champions League tie.
Hiddink has now lost the services of Ferreira to an anterior ligament injury sustained in training - but on the plus side, both defender Ricardo Carvalho and midfielder Michael Essien are in the squad.
Hiddink confirmed: "Paulo is not in the squad because he got injured yesterday and has anterior ligament damage. It means he is out for the season.
"But Essien and Carvalho both travel. I am happy to have two more players with international experience back in the squad.
"We want to get into the semi-finals of the FA Cup - the competition is highly regarded at home and abroad. But I have no priorities about the next two games.
"The next step after tomorrow is very important against Juve. But I have not got any specific priorities."
The trio were at the Collection nightclub in Brompton Road, Kensington, on Thursday morning - but Cole was the only one to be arrested by police.
The England left-back was detained at around 2.15am and later given an £80 fixed penalty for being drunk and disorderly, after he refused to curb his foul language.
Cole was unhappy that paparazzi photographers had taken his picture inside a restaurant but still launched a tirade of foul-mouthed abuse at police officers who had repeatedly asked him to calm down.
He was released from a custody suite just after 5.30am and did not train yesterday. He later issued a public apology to the police but felt the wrath of Hiddink earlier today at the club's Cobham training ground.
Hiddink, who has taken over from sacked Luiz Felipe Scolari until the end of the season, bravely responded to questions about Cole's behaviour at the club's pre-match press conference.
Hiddink maintained that Cole will be in the squad to face Coventry tomorrow - but with Paulo Ferreira out for the rest of the season because of ligament damage, the Dutchman is now short of options at left-back.
The manager stopped short of saying Cole had been fined by the club but did reveal he had spoken firmly to his defender and had words with Terry and Mancienne about being out so late before a game.
"I spoke with Ashley this morning in private," said Hiddink.
"He explained the details of what happened.
"I am a disciplinarian, but every case is different. You have to judge what the circumstances were, and that's why I tackled him on his behaviour.
"He said he was, in his opinion, harassed a little bit by the photographers and that is why he reacted. Afterwards, he regretted that.
"At that moment they are out of the rules which are set by the club to a certain extent before a game. I spoke firmly to him and the captain and Michael Mancienne.
"Ashley will be in the squad for tomorrow. He has publicly apologised about his conduct and behaviour to the police officer, and it is a rather private matter.
"We have an internal discipline, and this is to be considered internal. I have spoken firmly with him about his responsibility.
"There are rules inside this club regarding going out and also discipline, so I had a firm talk with him and the rest of the group about this.
"What is normal and good in this is that he apologised for his abusive behaviour to the police officer.
"He went a little bit too far. This is a country where we like to emphasise big things. The truth has to be told and the facts have to be told.
"If he regrets it deeply and makes his apologies directly then we have to close the case. That is why I tried to go with the daily routine, because we have an FA Cup match tomorrow.
"But they must not repeatedly show conduct which is counter-productive to the team. We, as a club, are talking firmly."
Chelsea's troubled season could be further defined inside the next five days.
They must overcome Coca-Cola Championship Coventry at the Ricoh Arena to reach the last four of the FA Cup and then take a one-goal lead to Juventus in the return leg of their last-16 Champions League tie.
Hiddink has now lost the services of Ferreira to an anterior ligament injury sustained in training - but on the plus side, both defender Ricardo Carvalho and midfielder Michael Essien are in the squad.
Hiddink confirmed: "Paulo is not in the squad because he got injured yesterday and has anterior ligament damage. It means he is out for the season.
"But Essien and Carvalho both travel. I am happy to have two more players with international experience back in the squad.
"We want to get into the semi-finals of the FA Cup - the competition is highly regarded at home and abroad. But I have no priorities about the next two games.
"The next step after tomorrow is very important against Juve. But I have not got any specific priorities."
Copyright (c) Press Association
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