Guus Hiddink bade farewell to the Stamford Bridge home crowd but gave a word of warning to some of the stars he leaves behind.
Wallowing in the praise heaped upon him 40,000 supporters, Hiddink wanted Chelsea-Mad to pass on his thanks.
He said: "It was nice to say goodbye with a victory. We should have scored more goals.
"There was a lack of concentration, but that is normal after the recent weeks.
"The season is not over, of course.
"It's nice to be appreciated - I did not expect it.
"I want to thank them all, it was a big surprise as I am here just a short period of time.
"When I was Australia boss, They got to the World Cup and performed well so I expected it. The same with Korea. But in this country, I expected respect, but no more - I am positively surprised."
Hiddink also confessed that he had second thoughts about leaving Chelsea at the end of this season.
"I had many thought, second and even third, you don't have a button which you can just switch off.
"I'm sad to be leaving."
Hiddink added that his contract with Russia was important to him: "You need to be committed to people you start a contract with," he confirmed.
"When I commit to them, I do it with pleasure."
With his explanation of why he is going, Hiddink then went on to talk about how Chelsea must adapt to the challenge of Manchester United and Liverpool.
"I don't want to put a cloud of pressure on the next manager," said Hiddink.
"But to compete you need to renew your squad each year - you need a deep quality to get to the first position.
"You have to analyse the squad, but the players around 30 years old need to be rested.
"I know people at Chelsea are aware of this."
Sensing that some of his players might be concerned by this comment, Hiddink continued about the unfinished business of the season.
"We would love to finish the season with the FA cup.
"Plus I am not a youngster anymore., but so long as I am fit and can deliver, when players don't get bored, I will continue.
"I cannot predict what will happen after the Russia job is finished."
That last comment will give hope to the thousands of Chelsea fans who chanted his name and shouted to Roman Abramovich to sign him up on a permanent deal.
But it might also serve notice to Carlo Ancelotti, the man hotly tipped to replace him in the summer.
With the spectre of Hiddink set to hang around Stamford Bridge for the next 18 months or so, Ancelotti might just think he is better off staying at AC Milan.
What do you think?
Have your say in the messageboard now.