Hiddink: I will continue Van Gaal's excellent work

Guus Hiddink has taken over from Louis van Gaal as manager of the Dutch national team. The legendary coach has sung the praises of the efforts of the team at the World Cup, with them finishing third after beating the host nation Brazil, and insists he will continue the policy of his predecessor – mixing youth with experience.

“I applaud the whole team, which performed excellently,” he said. “It was a very realistic approach there (in Brazil).’

Hiddink declined to give specifics of his likely starting XI, but noted that Van Gaal had brought in a crop of talented youngsters to mix with experienced stars. “That policy will be continued. I’m not going to get further into names.”

Hiddink said he wants to combine the “Dutch school” of attacking and possession-based play with “the instinct to survive” — meaning to play defensively and wait for counterattacks when necessary.