Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink has rubbished talk of a battle of wits between the three big-name managers gunning for this year's Premier League title.

Much has been made of the psychological games employed by England's top bosses, notably Sir Alex Ferguson, but the Blues' Dutchman has little time for it.

"It's not a battle between the managers at the end, it's a battle between the players," Hiddink said.

Speaking about his closest league rivals at Liverpool and Manchester United, he added: "They are both very experienced. Rafael Benitez is very experienced and so is Sir Alex."

And, with a wry smile, he added: "Let me chase them like a kind of schoolboy! It's good! There's no battle between managers, at the end it's the players."

Hiddink, a wily old campaigner, will be fully aware that he is the latest in a long line of Chelsea managers to have entered the battle of wits with

Sir Alex. Indeed, he is the 14th man to hold the Chelsea hot seat since the Glaswegian set-up stall at Old Trafford; and the sixth since Roman Abramovich's cash injection made Chelsea credible title challengers in 2003.

Hiddink may well meet Benitez and Sir Alex tomorrow, when he is expected to travel to Switzerland for Champions League quarter final and semi-final draw.

It's a completely open draw in which Chelsea must earn the route they must take to May's final in Rome.