Essien hails 'tough guy' Scolari

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After taking over from Avram Grant following Euro 2008, Scolari has stated he wants to bring a new philosophy to the club while also taking an active role in training, a scene which the Ghanaian revealed was not seen under the Israeli.

"You need to be a big character at Chelsea and I think he has that. He is a tough guy but off the pitch he is friendly," he said.

"He has his own ways tactically on the pitch and hopefully it can help us in the league," said Essien.

"Our new boss is really strong. He is a very good coach and we are glad to have him here."

And despite the speculation surrounding the future of striker Didier Drogba and midfielder Frank Lampard, Essien is confident Chelsea are capable of mounting a Premier League challenge.

"At the moment we have new players who have not played a lot together so we will see what happens," added Essien.

"We don't think about our opponents as we have a lot of the best players in the world. To play a lot with players like Deco and Lampard helps you improve a lot. They are world-class players.

"The competition for places makes you a better player. They are world-class as you can see in training; they can also always change a game. We have a winning mentality which is good, like me they don't like to lose."