"If you don't play for Chelsea, you don't know what these trophies mean to this club."

John Obi Mikel, fresh from scoring his second of the season against Derby at the weekend has spoken of how the players have embraced Jose Mourinho's winning mentality.

He said:

"If you don't play for Chelsea, you don't know what these trophies mean to this club. It's not a team where if you come second, third or fourth, it doesn't matter. No.

Every year you have to win something and this is the pressure.

It's a matter of letting them know what it means when you come to the end of the season, what the Premier League and Champions League means to this club. 

Now they're here, they have to feel the pressure and they are feeling it right now. That's why we just want to keep doing well and now they're starting to understand that we don't want to get beaten.

We just want to keep going and hopefully come the end of the season they will start to show the winning mentality even more that the manager is trying to install into them and we go on from there and win trophies. 

He (Mourinho) always wants us to play in a certain way and give 110 per cent. If you don't, you're out.

As a player that's what you want. You don't want to slack.

That's the mentality he wants installed in this team and slowly but surely the likes of Eden Hazard, Oscar and Willian are beginning to do that.

You can see by the way we press up the pitch. That is important for the team and we're doing well."

There is a long way to go in the Premier League with plenty of twists and turns along the way. I will say this though, it seems to me that slowly, Jose Mourinho is beginning to turn the screw to put pressure on his players to deliver results and by putting pressure on the managers of our title rivals.

It's all well and good having a good festive period, you need to continue that now and hope to put a good run of results together. From what Mikel is saying, the players are finally demonstrating the Mourinho method of late and we have been playing well and scoring goals.

Let's not forget the difference this season, Jose Mourinho and all his experience! Just remember, Mourinho has only ever finished either first or second no matter what league has been involved in (since Porto).

Let's hope that we have another successful season!

Carefree & KTBFFH!