Demba Ba confident will be Mourinho's first choice striker

The 28-year old Senegalese-born player, who joined the Blues' early this year from Newcastle United, said that he will fight for his place in the team rather than just warm up the Blues' bench.

"I'm hoping that this team has a good season...For me, it's good to see new players coming in to add depth into our team besides bringing more success," he told reporters after the club's training session at the Shah Alam Stadium, here, Saturday.

Almost 1,000 the Blues' die-hard fans thronged the stadium to see their favourite players train in an hour-long session under the supervision of Mourinho.

Demba Ba also praised the Portuguese coach's approaches during the Blues' training session which was beneficial to the team.

"So far, training under him is very good because he introduces a few tactics that the players rarely practised under the previous manager...I also see that he can settle in quickly with the new signings," he said.

Echoing Demba's views was the Blues' new signing, Mark Schwarzer who is hoping to play regularly as the team's first choice goalkeeper although he has to fight for the position with Czech Republic's Petr Cech.

"For me, it's going to be a tough fight because Chelsea FC has great and quality goalkeepers, but I believe in my abilities and will step up my effort to play regularly," said the 40-year Australian who recently completed his move from Fulham FC.

The United Kingdom-based club will be playing against the national football squad dubbed as 'Harimau Malaya' at the stadium, tomorrow with the kick-off at 9.45pm.

They had kicked-off their 2013/14 Pre-Season Asian Tour on a winning note by beating Thailand's Singha All-Star XI, 1-0 at the Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok on Thursday.