Scolari won't boss us about, says Deco

When Jose Mourinho was in charge of Chelsea everyone from the tea lady to the first-team players knew things had to be done his way. It brought the club unprecedented success, but new manager Luiz Felipe Scolari is going to take the democratic rather than totalitarian route to success.

Deco, who joined Chelsea from Barcelona for £7.9million this summer, knows both managers better than most having played under Mourinho at Porto and Scolari with Portugal.

While the duo both tend to earn the complete trust and respect of each member of the squad, the midfielder says there are fundamental differences in their method. For while Mourinho would leave nothing to chance and order the team to follow his instructions implicitly, Scolari likes to give his players more freedom.

Deco revealed: "Scolari's a great coach. Not only is he always trying to set new standards tactically, but he also shows a lot of respect to his players.

"He is demanding but he also accepts that players see things on the field that should be changed. You can just go ahead and do it, as long as it's for the team's sake. You know what's what with him. It is great to be working with Scolari again and together we hope to do very good things for Chelsea.

"He'll do fine in the Premier League. There won't be any language barrier - he speaks the language of football. He likes exciting play with a bit of aggression. Everyone will adore him.

"Both Mourinho and Scolari are strong personalities. Mourinho is more of a 'provocateur'. But you should not compare them. Let Scolari do his job and judge him for that."

Deco is settling quickly into life at Chelsea, although he has so far escaped the ritual enforced on every new signing at Stamford Bridge of having to sing a song in front of his team-mates.