If the season had begun in January, Chelsea would be just where you’d expect them to be: in the mix at the top of the league, positioned to run away with it. They’d be unbeaten with big decisive games ahead against Everton and Liverpool in the coming weeks. The team would be confident and cocky, marveling and mocking as the competition dropped points at every turn. All while Chelsea remained steady as ever, with fans making plans for how to celebrate a likely title repeat.

Of course, January wasn’t the beginning of the season, and by then Chelsea had such a hole to dig out of that no new year success was going to matter. That’s why it’s been so easy to forget how impressive their run has been lately. Eleven games unbeaten, and the man who deserves all the credit for that is Guus Hiddink.

And yet, despite how impressive this turnaround has been, Hiddink isn’t even in the conversation for next season.

This is stunning considering his record. In his two half-season outings with the Blues, Hiddink has lost only one Premier League game. During his last tenure, he led the team to an FA Cup trophy and the semifinals of the Champions League. And now, he’s taken a team once fighting relegation back into the top 10 with an eye on a desperate run towards Europe.

Yet his name did not make the shortlist for a permanent role at the club. Instead, it appears to be Antonio Conte’s job to lose. Rumors suggest Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is flying out this week to get the paperwork in order.

Conte’s a fine choice but is hardly necessary considering the man already in the position. Hiddink is well-loved by fans and players alike. John Terry, who knows something about being forced out despite success, has come out in support of keeping Hiddink, saying the players want him to stay.

He told the AFP, “We’ve all said it but the club’s made that clear [that Hiddink won’t be staying].”

That’s not to say anything against Conte, who guided Juventus back to success and won them their first title since the Calciopoli scandal. Then, he did it twice more in a row. And left a team that repeated yet again last season.

With that amount of tactical skill, he’s sure to build a team that’s competitive. And Chelsea will need that with Pep Guardiola coming to Manchester, followed closely perhaps by the recently-spurned Jose Mourinho.

But letting Hiddink go after a second successful stint has deeper consequences for Chelsea. The team has a reputation for turning its back on talented managers for petulant firings despite any amount of success. Mourinho won them almost everything in his first stint and won them the league last year, but still faced the sack after a poor start. Carlo Ancelotti won the league and the FA Cup. Also sacked. Winning the FA Cup and Champions League didn’t save Roberto Di Matteo. Nor did the Europa Cup earn Rafa Benitez another contract.

It’s hard to imagine what a manager must achieve to keep his job at Chelsea for more than a season or two. And when Conte comes in and fails to win the league against the best managers and all the money in Manchester, what will his fate be? And who will be there to replace him?

One day, Chelsea is going to run out of top managers to pick up and drop every other midseason. Maybe then they’ll go ahead and give Hiddink the chance he’s already earned twice.