Juan Mata admits Mourinho has given him not reasons for his absence from the first team.
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has not told Juan Mata why he is no longer a first team regular at Stamford Bridge, according to the Spanish playmaker.
Mata has been named the Blues player of the year in both of the previous two seasons but has found himself on the fringes of the team since Mourinho’s return to West London this summer, much to the bemusement of fans and experts.
The Portuguese has suggested to the media that Mata’s reluctance to track back and aid the defence is the cause for the Spaniard’s limited game-time but Mata has revealed that he has not been told the reasons directly by the manager.
“The way managers are depends on the way they understand the dressing room,” Mata told twentyfour7football.
“Some managers will not give you any reasons as to why you are playing or not playing simply because they don’t have to. Jose is like that.
“Some managers will speak with you when you’re playing but they won’t speak with you when you’re not. I just try to keep myself going the same no matter what kind of behaviour, because as a professional, you have to be ready for every situation and whether he does or doesn’t speak to you, you should never let that in any way affect the level of your performance.”
Mata has been linked with moves to some of Europe’s top clubs in January but stressed he remains clam about his situation at Chelsea and says he still has plenty of self-belief.
“But to be honest I’m the calmest person of them all because I believe in myself and always try to draw the positive things from the toughest moments, so I was OK then and I am OK now,” the former Valencia star continued.
“Sometimes you need to keep going, keep believing in yourself, that’s what I was doing and that’s what I’ll do, because the one who knows me best is me, and I believe in myself and I know that everything will be OK.
“When you have played so-so, you know, as you do when you have played well, and badly. Sometimes it’s after a game when you feel good about your performance even if the press said you played not so well. I think everyone reacts to bad criticism, and they think ‘Why? Why me?’ It’s normal, it’s human behaviour. We, players, are the same.”
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