CHELSEA boss Guus Hiddink revealed he had been following Eddie Howe’s rise to prominence and insisted he could realise his ambitions by staying at Cherries.

Howe has captured the imagination having masterminded Cherries ascent from the foot of League Two to Premier League safety across two spells in charge in his six-and-a-half-year career in the dugout.

National newspapers touted Howe as a credible candidate to take the job at Stamford Bridge when Jose Mourinho was sacked in December with the Independent’s Sam Wallace warning him to “pick his next job carefully”.

Despite consistently reiterating his desire to stay put, he even remains 10-1 fifth favourite to be the next England manager.

But Hiddink, whose managerial CV includes a European Cup win with PSV Eindhoven and spells in charge of Real Madrid, Holland and Russia, thinks Premier League riches can see Howe go as far as he wants to in Dorset.

Hiddink, who praised Howe in his pre-match press conference, told the Daily Echo: “It is not because I like to please. We follow him and you can see what he has done this season and in seasons before.

“I told him before the game, whatever the result, I am full of compliments for the way he works. I think he is one of those very nice English managers who knows the business.

“The way they (Cherries) play is very careful in the build-up and I think young English managers need to have the chance to step up.

“When I see what Steve Holland (Chelsea assistant) does in my period now, I couldn’t do what I am doing without him.

“I think he (Howe) is very controlled. You can see his team playing tactically, the build-up from the back towards the front line, you can see there is an idea in the way they play.

“They love to play football and the way he presents himself is very controlled. He is enthusiastic for the team but not just that, the way the team plays reflects the way the coach is working.”

Asked whether the evening out of top-flight finances could help Howe fulfil his potential with Cherries, Hiddink added: “I think so. Not totally, but I think the time has gone when journalists and coaches could say that the number one would be one of the established four and you could more or less predict the first four or five.

“I think this could change in the coming times when clubs have good directors and managers who can see what can be achieved in the transfer market.”

On the match, Hiddink said: ‘’Of course, we desperately wanted to win this game.

‘’We’ve got nothing at stake really and we talked about that in the week. We don’t want, as Chelsea, the season to fade away and the players responded very well.

‘’It was not a summer evening game, it was an intense game, and that was what it was all about.

“If you play the way we played, then it’s a guarantee the team will do everything to go for the win.”