CHELSEA manager Ruud Gullit is backing Guus Hiddink to banish the memory of Holland's Euro 96 nightmare. Gullit blames feuding players, rather than the manager, for Holland's failure to live up their pre tournament billing as favourites during the summer.

And he insists Hiddink is the right man to restore unity to the Dutch camp as they prepare to launch their World Cup qualifying campaign against Wales in Cardiff on Saturday.

Edgar Davids was sent home during the finals for a public outburst against his manager, prompting claims of a bitter race split between the Ajax members of the squad. And Davids has not been recalled for the Cardiff Arms Park clash, but Gullit is convinced Hiddink has begun the healing process.

"Guus Hiddink wasn't to blame for what happened in Euro 96" he explained yesterday. "That was something that had gone on for a long time among the Ajax players. They didn't solve it at their club before the tournament and they brought it into the national team which was a pity for the team.

"I can only guess what the reason was - it's something only the players involved know - but now he (Hiddink) has cleaned it up and Holland will now start again with a different attitude and different players."

In the aftermath of the latest split among players, Danny Blind's retirement from international football, and a string of injuries to key players, Hiddink has been forced to abandon a sophisticated system and revert to a more basic 4-4-2 formation.

The new system was deployed in Holland's only post-Euro 96 outing, a friendly against world champions Brazil, and the encouraging result was a 2-2 draw.