The Dutch tactician took over at Chelsea earlier this month following the sacking of Luiz Felipe Scolari.

The Blues defeated Aston Villa 1-0 in the Premiership and beat Juventus by the same scoreline in the Champions League in Hiddink’s first two matches at the helm.

"There is a difference in the players," England left-back Cole was quoted as saying by Sky Sports on Friday.

"When a manager goes it is always hard and the players liked him (Scolari), but now it is a fresh start for a lot of players and I think there is a different kind of belief."

Hiddink was widely appreciated by Chelsea fans for playing strike duo Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka together.

Anelka was Scolari's preferred choice upfront as Drogba played a peripheral role. The Ivorian striker was reportedly seeking to leave Chelsea as a result of his substitute role.

But under Hiddink, Drogba got a new lease of life and scored the winner in Chelsea's midweek victory over Juventus in the first-leg of the Champions League round of 16.