Michael Essien believes Luiz Felipe Scolari's "big character" will inspire success at Stamford Bridge this season.

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.

While Essien is in favour of Scolari's hands-on approach, the 25-year-old believes the Brazilian is similar to former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho who guided the Blues to league titles in 2005 and 2006.

"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.

"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."

Under the former Portugal and Brazil coach, Chelsea's squad has undergone a summer revival.

Since going close but failing to win either the Barclays Premier League or Champions League last season, Chelsea have brought in Portugal duo Deco and Boswinga, while Essien, Petr Cech and Wayne Bridge have pledged their long-term future to the club.

Veteran midfielder Claude Makelele and Dutch defender Khalid Boulahrouz have, though, departed for Paris St Germain and Stuttgart.

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."

While Essien refused to be drawn in naming a direct title challenger, the former Lyon midfielder predicted champions Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool would be in the hunt next May.

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