John Mikel Obi insists he made the right choice to choose Chelsea over Manchester United - and the midfielder now has sights on his first Premier League title.

Mikel, 21, was at the centre of an ugly tug-of-war between the two clubs and was pictured with a United shirt until the matter was resolved, at the cost of around £16million, and he made his Chelsea debut two years ago.

United have won both titles since and Mikel has been given a central role in winning it back for Chelsea, with confidence high at Stamford Bridge after fighting back to earn a draw against Sir Alex Ferguson's men at the weekend.

Mikel started in the 'Claude Makelele' role before being told to attack, allowing Chelsea to get themselves back in the game. Predictably, there was no dialogue between Mikel and Ferguson after the match.

"When I go out there I just want to play well," Mikel said.

"Maybe it turns out every time against Manchester United I play well but I just have to keep it going and make sure I do it in every game.

"I love being here - it is a fantastic club with fantastic people and I wish to be here for a very long time. I just have to keep on working hard and see what comes up."

A point preserved Chelsea's six-point lead on United, and Mikel wants to keep their rivals at arms length until the end of the campaign.

"That is what we want to achieve and I will pray we do that," he said.

"The first 10 minutes on Sunday was a bit difficult but after that we calmed down and passed the ball. From then until the end of the game we played much better than them."

Mikel has been entrusted with the Makelele role, which has added importance under Luiz Felipe Scolari as the Nigeria international is required to drop into defence when full-backs Jose Bosingwa and Ashley Cole bomb forward.

As Michael Essien is injured and Deco picked up an injury ahead of the United clash, Mikel is seen as a key midfielder in Scolari's system.

With Mineiro on his way to bolster the midfield, Mikel could also be used in the more orthodox role. It is no surprise that he is reluctant to be pigeon-holed as the next Makelele.

"We are two different types of players," he said.

"We don't play the same way but all respect to him. Anywhere in the middle is fine but the manager will mostly play me in the holding midfield role.

"When you play under a manager like Scolari it's good for your confidence when the manager has got belief in you.

"He wants you to go out there and he knows you can do it. I always go out there and make sure I don't disappoint him, go out there and give it my most."

Meanwhile, Chelsea skipper John Terry has thanked United's neighbours for helping him get his suspension overturned by the Football Association, freeing him to face United.

Terry, acknowledging how Manchester City boss Mark Hughes voiced his disapproval at the England skipper's dismissal at Eastlands, said: "I'd like to thank Sparky for talking to the press after my sending off at City and saying he felt it was wrong. Every little bit helps."