John Obi Mikel looking forward to Chelsea pre-season matches under new manager Andre Villas

The Nigeria international has enjoyed returning to training under the Portuguese coach and is relishing their first match of pre-season against Wycombe this week

Chelsea's John Obi Mikel says he is looking forward to playing under new manager Andre Villas-Boas.

The midfielder played 26 games for the Blues last season, in a campaign which saw them finish second in the Premier League and reach the Champions League quarter-finals.

Owner Roman Abramovich sacked manager Carlo Ancelotti at the end of the season, however, and appointed Villas-Boas, 33, as his successor.

Mikel has enjoyed the fresh approach to pre-season training and is excited by the prospect of pre-season matches at Chelsea.

“We have a game on Tuesday against Wycombe, and it will be nice to be in a match situation," he told the club's official website.

“Hopefully we do well in our first game under the new manager. We know it is a practice game but everyone has to work hard because we know it is important to show what we can do.

“Training sessions have been going well; everyone is in a good mood.

“We're obviously all just back from our holidays but people are feeling fit and seem happy with the training and the systems we have here so now we have to transfer it into a game.

“The new manager has worked really hard on our sharpness and it is going very well.

“There has been lots of ball work and not so much running, which is really good. You get used to the ball again quickly and you feel fitter quickly.

“The double sessions are hard but working with the ball makes it so much easier than running all the time, and it is enjoyable as well.”

Despite the positives to have come out of pre-season training, one negative is Michael Essien’s long-term knee injury sustained on the first day back.

The Ghanaian midfielder will be out of action until January, and Mikel hopes his team-mate will recover to return to the first team soon.

Mikel added: “Unfortunately Michael Essien has been injured, and we all feel sorry for him and wish him well and hopefully he can come back very soon.”