Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink has admitted as harsh his decision to substitute Abdul Baba Rahman during their 2-1 win over Southampton on Saturday.
The 21-year-old Ghana defender made a terrible mistake by heading an intended clearance into the path of Shane Long which resulted in the opener after 42 minutes but two second-half goals from Cesc Fabregas and Branislav Ivanovic saved Chelsea's blushes.
“I don’t want to make a fake injury. I took him off because of the error,” Hiddink said. “I had to make a decision and taking Baba off was a bit harsh but I had to because the team has suffered in defence in the past and I had to make it.”
“He has to cope with that. He was very down in the locker room about his mistake, but we have to make decisions like we did.”
Baba has struggled to command a starting berth in Chelsea setup after his move from Augsburg last year. He has played six times out of 27 games in the EPL, starting four times and playing 344 minutes in total.
Chelsea are now 11th in the log with 36 points and will travel to Carrow Road to lock horns withNorwich City on March 1.
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