Chelsea dressing room was fine under Jose Mourinho, reveals John Obi Mikel

Mourinho was sacked because of a 'palpable discord' between manager and players

Tom Sheen
Wednesday 30 December 2015 09:20 EST
Comments
(Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel has said that the atmosphere in the first-team dressing room was "fine" under Jose Mourinho.

The Portuguese coach was sacked earlier this month with his side sitting just a point above the relegation zone. Following his dismissal, the club's technical director Michael Emenalo claimed that a "palpable discord" between the manager and his players had emerged, which forced the club hierarchy's hand.

However, Mikel, who played his 350th game for Chelsea in the 2-2 draw with Watford and was solid in a holding midfield role in the 0-0 draw at Manchester United, said the mood in the dressing room was good under the former boss.

Vaishali discusses Chelsea's January transfer window NEW

“I think the atmosphere was fine, always fine but we just weren’t getting the results, I don’t know what it was," said Mikel.

"Jose is a fantastic manager and he will always be a fantastic guy. Sometimes football is a cruel game, you have to move on.

"He’s come back second time, won the club another trophy. Now the change has been made, we have to move on.”

Mikel also refused to give up on Chelsea finishing in the top four and securing Champions League football for next season, despite the Blues 15 points behind Tottenham.

"Top four? I don't think it's gone," he added.

"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."

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in