Mikel Obi Blames Jose Mourinho Once Again

Super Eagles captain, john Obi Mikel, has blamed former Chelsea manager, Jose Mourinho for his performance in his 10-year sojourn at Stamford Bridge, saying the Portuguese born tactician never placed his faith in the midfielder.

The former Real Madrid manager favoured Nemanja Matic ahead of the Nigerian international, with Mikel just five Premier League

appearances under the Portuguese coach this season, but has become a mainstay in the side under Guus Hiddink.

Mourinho was sacked by his employers last December and Mikel has risen in the pecking order in coach Guus Hiddink's managerial tenure, playing almost all the games since then.

“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.”

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. Goal