Mikel John Obi believes Antonio Conte can lead Chelsea to trophies this season - if the club's players put in the hard work their new manager demands.
Conte took charge at Stamford Bridge in the summer and has enjoyed a solid start to his career in English football.
Back-to-back defeats to Liverpool and Arsenal soured the early positivity surrounding the Blues but the club bounced back with a victory over Hull City prior to the international break.
Chelsea now occupy seventh place in the table but Mikel is adamant the 46-year-old will be able to add to the west Londoners' trophy cabinet, despite England's top tier set to be more competitive than ever this term.
"I can only see Chelsea winning trophies with this guy and hopefully we can achieve that," Mikel told Goal.
"The manager knows what he wants, we are behind him, we support him as players and we have to go with him.
"We want to be, at the end of the season, on the top and, if we can win it, why not [go for it]."
Conte's passionate managerial style has struck a chord with the club's fanbase, who have fed off the Italian's touchline theatrics in the early stages of the season.
Mikel believes the approach has also had a positive impact on Chelsea's players, who are committed to giving their all as the club attempts to recover from last season's disappointing title defence.
"In games I don’t even need to say, you can see how passionate he is and how passionate he is about winning.
The Chelsea players out on loan
"One thing for sure is that you have to work for him and there’s no getting away with that.
"You have to put in your best in training, you have to run and run and run, and tactics is what he believes in.
"I think everyone is going with that and we will see at the end of the season where we finish," he added.
Chelsea face champions Leicester City following the conclusion of the international break and could force their way back into the European places with victory over Claudio Ranieri's men.
