Guus Hiddinks' tenure as coach of Russia has been thrown into doubt after they failed to qualify for the next summer's World Cup finals in South Africa having been eliminated by Slovenia.

Having been made firm favourites to progress after a 2-1 first leg win, nine-men Russia crashed 1-0 in Maribor to put paid to their hopes of qualifying for next year's showpiece event.

Slovenian striker Zlatko Dedic's goal just before the break proved decisive as Matjaz Kek's men pulled off victory on the away goals rule, as well as the shock of the night.

Failure to qualify for the World Cup has left the usually successful Guus Hiddink pondering what to do next, with the Dutchman's contract due to expire in the summer of 2010.

Having already stated his desire to manage in the Premier League, the former Chelsea coach's time as Sbornaya coach may well have run its course.

"I have an existing contract until the end of the World Cup finals in July 2010. The question of whether I will continue to UEFA Euro 2012 will require some time for thought," the 63 year-old told the Russian reporters.

"Before the matches with Germany and Slovenia, the Russian Football Association (RFS) expressed their desire to continue working together. But we'll talk about the future at a later stage," he added.

Hiddink took the reigns with Russia in 2006 and guided the team through a tough qualification group comprising of England and Croatia all the way to semi-finals of Euro 2008.