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Mikel: Mourinho didn't believe in me

Cape Town - Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel has admitted to losing his confidence after being frozen out of the first team under former manager Jose Mourinho.

The Nigeria international made just five appearances under the Portuguese boss, but found himself back in the first team under new boss Guus Hiddink.

"I think confidence is everything, if a manager doesn't believe in you, trust me there's no way you can succeed," he told Goal website.

"Even if you do things right he would always make sure he finds fault. 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.

"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."

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