GUUS HIDDINK is considering giving England under-21 defender Michael Mancienne his Premier League debut in the critical game at Aston Villa on Saturday after injuries and suspension ate into the new Chelsea manager’s options.

Hiddink conducted his second training session since taking over at the club in front of some 5,000 supporters at Stamford Bridge yesterday, promising those present he would “give everything to make the team [play] well” over his 15-week reign to the end of the season. His first game in official charge will be at Villa Park, and the Dutchman already finds his squad stretched, with Ricardo Carvalho and Alex absent with hamstring and ankle complaints respectively.

The Chelsea squad broke from their keep-ball sessions to play a 10-a-side game in which Hiddink appeared to select a first-choice team against reserves. He employed the under-used Paulo Ferreira at left back in place of Ashley Cole, who is suspended at the weekend, and Branislav Ivanovic started alongside John Terry in central defence.

However, Mancienne, who impressed as a right back on his Chelsea debut in Saturday’s FA Cup victory at Watford, replaced Ivanovic for the second half of the practice game.

The 21-year-old did not feature in the reserves’ 6-0 win over Portsmouth on Monday night – a game Hiddink attended with Roman Abramovich – and Mancienne’s absence is a possible indicator of his involvement at Villa Park.

Mancienne has already caught the eye of the England coach, Fabio Capello, who included him in his squad for the friendly in Germany last November based on his form during a loan spell at Wolves in the Championship.

While Ivanovic boasts more experience, the younger man’s pace makes him a viable option to combat Villa’s Gabriel Agbonlahor and Ashley Young.

Abramovich watched training from the stands yesterday as Hiddink flitted from joking with his players to directing the routines alongside Ray Wilkins and Paul Clement.

“There are new styles, new methods,” Terry said when asked how training differed from Luiz Felipe Scolari’s regime. “[Hiddink’s] come in and training’s looked really sharp, actually, for the last couple of days – everyone fighting for their places again. Things are looking sharp. He’s got his methods and his tactics that he wants to get across to us in the first three or four days.

“He has managed to get his ideas on tactics across. He’s implemented quite a few things early on. He’s got two more days to do that as well, which I’m sure he’ll take full advantage of. But training today was good, nice and sharp, the way he wants us to play, the way he wants us to press more and play higher up the pitch. So there are few things like that. He’s made a few changes.”

The manager was introduced to the crowd before training and warned the fans it was a working session. “I am not here to entertain you all morning,” he said. “I’m here to give the entertainment through the team. We hope to make a very good end to the season.”

Hiddink’s involvement at Chelsea is causing consternation among the Russian players he coaches as manager of the Russian national team. Andrei Arshavin, now at Arsenal, admitted to having “mixed feelings” at the appointment. “On the one hand, I have a very good relationship with Guus, so I’m not going to wish him bad luck,” Arshavin said. “But on the other hand, Chelsea are my direct rivals now. Then there is the worrying thought that if everything goes great for Hiddink in London, he might extend his stay at Chelsea, and then there is the possibility of him leaving the national team. If Guus left suddenly, that could spell the end of our national team.”

Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack, meanwhile, has denied suggestions he helped oust Hiddink’s predecessor Luiz Felipe Scolari from his job at Stamford Bridge.

“I couldn’t believe this,” Ballack said. “I was surprised when I heard about it in Germany as I always had a lot of good words about Scolari.

“This is not true. Meetings are normal in a club. If people speak with each other, even if you don’t have the success you want, it has happened before. It’s not just this week. It happened with other coaches.

“It’s normal Abramovich comes in the dressingroom and speaks with players. It’s not easy, not nice to sack somebody.

“This was in the papers, but is definitely not true.

“There is no backing or basis for this. I had a good relationship with every coach. I never said this. It’s speculation which appears in newspapers.

“ I was disappointed as I couldn’t react because I was away.”