JOHN OBI MIKEL insists he has gone from Chelsea bad boy to the Blues' new Man o’ War.

The Nigerian had built an unwanted reputation after being sent off four times in two years.

But the 21-year-old midfield ace says he has now grown up and turned over a new leaf.

Mikel said: “I made a speech before a game at Middlesbrough in the dressing room and after I had finished, John Terry said, ‘now you are a man’.

“If people like John Terry and Frank Lampard say I am now a man, I am a man. I thought about everything coming into this season — about how to get the cards right.

“Now I am happy with myself. I am happy about not getting cards because before, by this time in the season, I would have had one or two reds. So far it has been going well.”

Mikel admits he will face stiff competition when Michael Essien returns from injury in January.

He added: “He’s a great player, so I do not know if I am going to play. It is up to the manager.”