MIKEL: MOURINHO DIDN'T BELIEVE IN ME ANYMORE

The Chelsea midfielder, currently on
international duty with Nigeria, is enjoying life
at Stamford Bridge once more under Guus
Hiddink after falling out with the Portuguese
coach
John Obi Mikel has once again hit out at
Jose Mourinho’s management style and says
the axed Chelsea boss never placed his faith
in the midfielder.
The new Nigeria captain made just five
Premier League appearances under the
Portuguese coach this season, but has
become a mainstay in the side under Guus
Hiddink.
And Mikel believes he is benefitting from
having a manager who trusts him again,
suggesting Mourinho overlooked him
regardless of how well he performed in
training.
“I think confidence is everything, if a
manager doesn’t believe in you, trust me
there’s no way you can succeed,” the 28-
year-old exclusively told Goal while on
international duty with the Super Eagles.
“Even if you do things right he would always
make sure he finds fault.”
He continued: “People change in any walk of
life, maybe he decided he wanted to do
better in a different way and he didn’t need
me anymore.
“He didn’t have the belief that he had in me
before, which is fine because every manager
has the player that they have trust in.
“It is a tough business, football, so when a
manager comes in he wants to have people
he believes in. If he doesn’t believe in you he
doesn’t play you. And I think it’s all about a
manager giving a player confidence.”
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Chelsea technical director Michael Emenolo
described a “palpable discord” between the
manager and the players prior to Mourinho’s
departure, when the side languished in 16th
place – just one point above the drop zone.
Mikel has previously credited new boss
Hiddink with reinstalling a sense of
togetherness at Stamford Bridge, and praised
the impact the Dutchman has made in such a
short space of time.
“Hiddink came in, he spoke to me, he gave
me the confidence and now I have played 20
games and we’re in the best position - where
we haven’t been all season.”
This is not the first time Mikel has aimed a
jibe at his former boss, with the Nigeria
international claiming in January that there
was a total lack of communication between
himself and Mourinho, something Hiddink has
changed dramatically.