30th December, 2015
John Mikel Obi has admitted the atmosphere in the Chelsea dressing room has improved, just three games after the sacking of Jose Mourinho.
Blues interim manager Guus Hiddink claimed after his side’s 0-0 draw against Manchester United that he had already lifted spirits at Stamford Bridge since succeeding Mourinho, who was often publicly critical of his players towards the end of his reign.
And Chelsea midfielder Mikel believes the departure of the Portuguese has resulted in an end to what technical director Michael
Emenalo described as a ‘palpable discord’ between the former manager and his players.
“We’ve moved on from that and the atmosphere has improved since the change of manager,” he said. “It’s fine now, we’ve just not been getting results.
“Jose is a fantastic manager and will always be a fantastic guy. But sometimes football is a cruel game and you have to move on.
“Is it the right decision? Who knows? We’ll only see in the future.”
Chelsea have moved to 14th position in the league after remaining unbeaten over the festive period thus far, but clambering up to the Champions League places remains a pipe dream with the Blues still 15 points adrift of fourth-placed Tottenham.
Despite the long road ahead, Nigerian international Mikel is refusing to throw in the towel just yet.
“Top four? I don’t think it’s gone,’ added the 28-year-old, who made his 350th appearance for the Blues in the 2-2 draw against Watford on Boxing Day.
“We’ve got lots of games to catch up and if we keep going in this direction and keeping clean sheets, we will definitely score goals.
“We’ve had three games now without losing so are making the right steps.”