It hurt! Mikel explains why Chelsea are out to strike back in the Premier League

John Obi Mikel has revealed how Chelsea's joy at their greatest ever season was tainted by the 'hurt' of finishing so far off the pace in the Barclays Premier League.

And the Blues midfielder declared he and his team-mates were determined to slash the 25-point gap to Manchester City and Manchester United in one fell swoop this term and mount a genuine title challenge.
Chelsea spent almost the whole of last season teetering on the brink of their worst campaign since Roman Abramovich bought the club, before ultimately securing an amazing Champions League and FA Cup double.

Out to get you: John Obi Mikel wants Chelsea to get back on track in the top flight

 

For some, that rendered their sixth-place finish in the Premier League - by far their worst of the Abramovich era - largely meaningless, but not for a squad used to competing for and winning the title.

Mikel said: 'It hurts us that it was such a big gap last season. We spoke about it. We don't want that to repeat itself.'
He added: 'We don't want a repeat of last season when we slipped out of the top four but, for us, the top four is not the target.
'The most important thing is to win the trophy. We want to regain the trophy.'
Chelsea have certainly made a statement of intent on that front in the amount they have spent this summer, but they will need all the new players they can get in a season that sees them compete for silverware on seven fronts.
One of those trophies has already slipped away after they were beaten by champions City in Sunday's Community Shield.
But what was a fourth successive defeat in the build-up to Saturday's Premier League opener at Wigan did not faze Mikel.

Statement of intent: Mikel wants to regain the Premier League trophy

He said: 'We're on the right track and if we keep doing what we're doing now, we'll be fine this season.
'It's going to be a long season. It's going to be too many games.
'It's about how you cope with it, how you manage the players and how you get through the games.'
He added: 'We want to defend the Champions League, we want to win the Premier League and, hopefully, we want to challenge for every cup.'
That could be made more difficult as Chelsea gradually try to implement a more attractive style of play and finally bring the best out of Fernando Torres.
'You can see Fernando Torres fitting into the way we want to play and hopefully he can do the job,' said Mikel, who did not believe there would be a major change of approach.
'This is what we demand from him. This season, I hope he scores more goals for us.'
In the Community Shield, Torres began this season as he ended the last, with a goal, and Mikel added: 'We hope he's regained his confidence and that, during the season, he will come back and become the Torres we all know.

Upwards: Fernando Torres' form is improving

'There's no doubt about it, he's put in effort every day in training and you can see that in his game. Hopefully, it's just a matter of things working out for him.
'When he has the chances and puts them away, I think everyone in the team will love him.'
There is no doubting the love from Mikel for manager Roberto Di Matteo, who brought the midfielder in from the cold last season.
Mikel was delighted to see the Italian handed the reins full-time.
He said: 'That's what you want when you work. When you do well, you demand to get a pay rise or you demand a promotion.
'He's done well, so why not give him a go? The lads all love Roberto and hopefully he can stay in the job for as long as he wants.
'It's important that we are stable. It's important that we know the manager.
'With Roberto, we know what he demands, we know what he wants from us and that's exactly what we're going to give him this season.'
Mikel would also relish linking up with Nigeria team-mate Victor Moses, who is at the centre of one of the transfer sagas of the summer.
Mikel said of the Wigan forward and Chelsea target: 'He's young and the club are going the right way now buying more young players, trying to develop them for the future.
'If Moses comes, he's going to be one of those, too.'