Guus Hiddink has been linked with the Australian national football team on a part-time basis.

The PSV coach, who took co-hosts South Korea to the 2002 World Cup semi-finals, has had meetings with Football Federation Australia (FFA) officials in England, the Sun-Herald said Sunday.

According to the report, the deal would initially involve Hiddink taking over on a part-time basis while he aintains his coaching commitments with PSV.

“We’re talking to a very small number of candidates, of which he is one,” performance manager John Boultbee told Australian Associated Press. “We’re making good progress.”

“We need somebody who will be available whenever the team is assembled, to be able to visit the players and their clubs whenever they’re not assembled, to be in Australia to look at A-League players,” he added.

“We’re looking for a person who has the right type and level of experience to take us to the next level – and World Cup experience is very important to us.”

Frank Farina quit the Socceroos job shortly after the Confederations Cup in Germany last month.

The Sun-Herald said Hiddink was “excited” about the challenge of getting the Socceroos to next year’s World Cup finals.

“Depending on the success of the coming World Cup campaign, Hiddink may be offered a more long-term deal — one that would require him to live in Australia and coach the Socceroos on a full-time basis,” the newspaper said.

“In the meantime, (the) FFA is believed to be more than comfortable with his part-time commitment, one that has been described as ‘generous’ by one insider.”