Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel has claimed that former manager Jose Mourinho lost belief in him this season.

Mourinho was sacked by the club in December after the team dropped dangerously close to the relegation zone in the Premier League.

Mikel, who has praised interim boss Guus Hiddink publicly a number of times since he took over, played just five times in the league under Mourinho in the first half of the campaign.

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

Mikel has been a Chelsea player since 2006 when he signed from Lyn.