Sunday 10 April 2016 08:05, UK
Guus Hiddink admits the 1-0 defeat at Swansea will do the younger members of the Chelsea team some good in the long-term.
Swansea ended Chelsea's unbeaten 14-game Premier League run under Hiddink at the Liberty Stadium with Gylfi Sigurdsson netting the winning goal on 25 minutes.
Chelsea were missing experienced players like John Terry, Gary Cahill, Diego Costa, Eden Hazard, Willian and Nemanja Matic for the defeat as Hiddink gave further opportunities to some of the younger members of his squad.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Matt Miazga both started the game with Kenedy and Bertrand Traore coming off the bench.
Miazga was at fault for the winning goal and was replaced at half-time.
Hiddink did not single the American centre-back out for criticism and instead took the view that defeats like these will be a positive thing for his younger players to experience.
He said: "We had a poor defensive spell, which gave them the 1-0 lead. Second half we went looking for a goal but we it didn't materialise.
"It's not just the central defence. The whole team must defend well. I can't complain about the absence of big players that can make a difference. It's good for Chelsea to see what other players can do when we substitute the big players. I don't like defeats but it's good to expose that to these young players."
Chelsea announced earlier this week that Antonio Conte will be taking over as manager after leading Italy at Euro 2016 in France this summer.
Hiddink refuted the suggestion that the appointment had affected his players in this game, saying: "I don't think so.
"What we did in the second half was good. I don't think they had it in mind to look to next season."
