Juan Mata happy to adapt to Jose Mourinho's Chelsea tactics

Chelsea playmaker Juan Mata says he is happy to adapt to boss Jose Mourinho's new tactics after winning his place back in the side.

Mata has started just four of Chelsea's 10 matches this season despite being named as the club's player of the year in the previous campaign.

"I have to do this," said Mata, 25, of adjusting to Mourinho's demands.

"I will try to improve, score goals, assist and do what I have to do. I'm not the kind of man that gets down."

In September Mourinho had called on Mata to "adapt to different realities" and "transform a few things in his game", suggesting that he needed to carry out more defensive work than had been expected of him in previous years.

Mata's introduction from the bench coincided with Chelsea's improved second-half performance in before he produced a lively display in Tuesday's 4-0 Champions League win over Steaua Bucharest.

"I just keep going, train well and prepare for every game," Mata added.

"It's important to play with the ball and without the ball, but I'm very happy and looking forward to playing a lot of games throughout the season."

In July, Chelsea denied that they had offered Mata or defender David Luiz as a makeweight in their ultimately unsuccessful pursuit of Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney.

Mata, who has scored eight goals in 29 international appearances, is in contention for a place in Spain's squad for their World Cup defence in Brazil next summer.