Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho wants Michael Essien to be the rock in his new-look midfield, leaving just one place up for grabs in the middle of the park.

Mourinho has already signalled his intent to revert to two wingers as the Blues bid to regain the English Premier League title they lost to Manchester United last season.

His decision has a big influence on the make-up of his central midfield options with Essien, Michael Ballack, Frank Lampard, Claude Makelele and Steve Sidwell among the big names vying for places.

"Michael was one of the best players last season," Mourinho said. "For bad reasons he was playing as a central defender but he is a midfield player and he is the kind of midfield player we need."

With Florent Malouda and Arjen Robben on either flank in Mourinho's perfect scenario, the Chelsea coach believes Essien is the third piece in his midfield jigsaw.

"We want to play with people wide so there will be one less man in the center of midfield and for that we need him," Mourinho said.

"He only played for 45 minutes but against Club America he showed his power and his quality, and I hope this season with the protection we have at the back, even with some injuries we won't have to play him at the back.

"I look forward to that because I think the team is much more powerful, much more dominant when Michael is playing."

With Ballack still in England recovering from surgery, Mourinho is planning to pair Essien with Lampard in central midfield for the first half of their match against Korean side Suwon Bluewings.

The Chelsea coach said he was looking forward to seeing them play together but most of all he is keen to see Essien develop into an even better player.

"He's so strong that 90 minutes is not enough for him," Mourinho said. "He's very, very powerful as everyone knows, but I think his quality is improving so much.

"His arrival in the opponents' box is getting better, and his shooting is improving too, because in the first season he was killing a few people behind the goal. But now he's coming up with some goals and in training he looks much more ready. His powerful shot is becoming more dangerous."

Mourinho again spoke of his satisfaction with the make-up of his squad heading into his fourth campaign at Stamford Bridge.

"I think I am a happy coach with this kind of group," he said. "People think because they are big guys and big names in football sometimes it's not too difficult to get these guys but Michael (Essien) is just one example, the others are not much different.

"I am very, very happy to work with them, it's one of the reasons why I'm in my fourth season in the club. I wish to stay for a long time because I enjoy working with these kind of people because they love to work.

The Blues boss also underlined the importance of leading goalscorer Didier Drogba to the Chelsea cause.

"You know Drogba has always been important since he arrived," Mourinho said. "Even in his first season when he was not scoring a lot of goals, his contribution as a team player was massive.

"So when we remember he was the top scorer in the country and one of the best players in the Champions League (last season) and when I see him in training and he looks so sharp and with only one week of work, his quality looks even better than last season. I think we will have the same Didier we had last season and that for us is fantastic because as a striker and a team player it's difficult to find better."

Credit:Ticker