Guus Hiddink has agreed a two-year extension to his contract, which will see him stay on as Russia's football coach until after the World Cup finals in 2010. The move should put an end to speculation that Hiddink was being lined up as the new manager of C

The announcement comes ahead of the national team's European qualifying game against England next week. Hiddink said he is looking forward to reshaping Russian football. And although he admits he has always had a good relationship with Chelsea, he insists he never discussed moving there.

“Even before my Russian period I had good contact with Chelsea, with some players. I know people within Chelsea, and recently I’ve had a contact when I was in London, just to have a coffee and talk about Russian football. What we never did was talk about any working position within Chelsea football club,” Guus Hiddink stated.

Meanwhile, Russia striker Roman Pavlyuchenko will not be disciplined ahead of next weeks Euro qualifier with England after he was late for training. He was delayed by traffic for 19 minutes. Hiddink has dropped players in the past but accepted his apology.

England have been boosted by confirmation that star striker Michael Owen is fit to play againt Russia.

His club side Newcastle have voiced concerns over the player's return to action just eight days after surgery on his stomach, but Owen says his doctor told him that the risk of the injury recurring is minimal.