Michael Essien has responded strongly to Sir Alex Ferguson's claims that many of his team-mates are over the hill by predicting that Chelsea will win the Barclays Premier League next season. In the first shots of his psychological war with Luiz Felipe Scolari, the Manchester United manager suggested yesterday that Chelsea have little scope for improvement because they are an ageing side, but Essien believes that the experience of many of their players is one of their strengths.

Noting that there are likely to be only two players aged over 30 - Deco and Ricardo Carvalho - in the team who open Chelsea's pre-season tour against Guangzhou Pharmaceutical in southern China this afternoon, Essien threw down the gauntlet to United by stating that the title will return to Stamford Bridge next year.

“It's going to be really difficult this year, but for me only Chelsea will be up there in May,” Essien, 25, said. “Chelsea will win the title this year. Last year we were unlucky and hopefully we can win more trophies this year. These things happen in football, so we have to forget about last year. There is a big season ahead of us.

“I think we've got a lot of the best players in the world and the boss is going to help us. We have to work really hard, though, because it's not going to be easy. [Michael] Ballack, [Frank] Lampard and Deco are world-class players. As you can see in training and in matches, they can always change a game. They have their own qualities.

“We've also got this mentality of winning. That'll be good for us. All the players are bad losers, like me. I don't like to lose. It happens, but I always like to win. Everybody wants to win.”

Without going so far as to disparage Avram Grant, the former first-team coach, Essien believes that Scolari can transform Chelsea into champions. The Brazilian has made a big impression on his players, both for his intensity and professionalism on the pitch and good humour off it.

“Our new boss is really strong,” Essien said. “If you see his CV, it speaks for itself. He's a big man, a very good person and we're all glad to have him here. He'll help a lot. You need to be a big character to manage Chelsea. He has that, so that will help us.

“He's a very tough guy during the games, but he's very friendly off the pitch. He likes to talk to his players all the time. It's good to have him on the pitch in training telling us what to do. He has his own way of managing this team and it's good for the players and the club.”

Scolari's happiness with his squad is shown by the club's willingness to hand out long-term contracts to many of their players. Essien followed Petr Cech and Wayne Bridge by signing a new five-year deal yesterday, with Ballack and Carvalho also likely to be given extended contracts.

“I'm really happy to sign a new contract with Chelsea,” Essien said. “I came here to stay longer. I really like the team, love the fans and we've got a great chance. I didn't want a move to go anywhere. I love playing for Chelsea and was very happy when they came up to me and offered me a new contract. It's good for me too to have the new contract and play as long as I can here.”