• Hiddink: ‘John Obi is the ideal player to bring balance back to the team‘ • Dutch coach lauds Oscar for his tackling qualities in win at Crystal Palace

Guus Hiddink said Chelsea’s glamour players are doing the “dirty work” to give the team a platform to emerge from the trauma of the first half of the Premier League season.

The manager watched his side win 3-0 at Crystal Palace on Sunday – the first victory of his second spell in caretaker charge – and he talked afterwards of them being better balanced and more secure, a feeling that was helped, he said, by the authority of Mikel John Obi in defensive midfield.

Hiddink noted that even Oscar, the attacking midfielder, who scored the opening goal, had mucked in on the physical side of things, despite tackling not being his strong point.

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“If a team is not doing well for a very long period, it is rather human to look for security,” Hiddink said. “That is why we have emphasised the good, hard work, tactically and in a defensive way.

“We don’t need to add a lot to the quality of the players. When they get the ball, they know how to play. But they have to know that once things are not going as wished, we have to look for causes. That is why we started working. The very talented players, they start working to invest in what I call the ‘dirty work’ and not just the beautiful game that they can play.

“This league is very demanding. And if you think that you can do it just on your quality, which is given by nature, then this league is killing you. They start working. Oscar starts working, also. Oscar was doing what is not his big quality. He was tackling a bit.”

Hiddink, though, made the point that he did not want his team merely to sit back and protect a lead. To him, real security is provided by hard work all over the pitch. “I don’t like to see a team drop back very far, to seek false security but to look forwards and to get the ball as soon as possible,” he said.

Hiddink watched Cesc Fàbregas, who was back in the team after illness, produce an influential display in central midfield but he agreed that Mikel had put down the foundations. “It’s balance,” Hiddink said. “If we have three very creative players [in midfield] … it’s possible but in this league, it’s difficult. That’s why we look for the balance. John Obi is the ideal player to bring balance back to the team.

“Previously Chelsea conceded a lot of goals and you can say that the four defenders are not going their jobs. But if the team is not willing to defend well, or does not have the right balance, then you concede a lot of goals. John Obi can recover the ball and he reads the game very well. A player who can defend so smoothly, for me, is beautiful to see.”