Nemanja Matic thinks he has improved this season at Chelsea after recovering from his humiliating substitution under Jose Mourinho last campaign.
The Serb was brought on against Southampton at half-time last October by then-Chelsea manager Mourinho before the Portuguese coach hauled him off only 28 minutes in to the second-half.
Matic was “proud” of himself for not reacting badly at the time but admitted he “felt terrible” when he was brought off the pitch.
“I felt terrible to be subbed, to be honest,” Matic admitted.
“I am a man first of all and of course I felt bad at that moment. But as you know, I didn’t react, I stayed professional.
“Normally some of the players react to that and cause some problems but as you can see I didn’t react and showed respect for the coach and for the club and my team. It was very hard. You have to play and see how it feels.
“I knew I did the right thing when I sat on the bench. I knew I did the right thing and I am proud that I didn’t react.”
Another great victory yesterday __with my mates @Chelseafc
To all the fans, stay tuned on my page this week. A surprise awaits you.
Ngolo pic.twitter.com/FLQnNA06hE— N'Golo Kanté (@nglkante) October 31, 2016
Matic has also explained his reasons for choosing not to celebrate his brilliant goal in the 3-2 loss to Sunderland last season.
“If the team target is to be first, second or third, it is hard to celebrate when you are tenth in the table,” he explained. “Of course I was happy to score, but our target is not to be tenth.”
The Blues have now won four league matches in a row without conceding a single goal and Antonio Conte’s men are fourth, one point behind leaders Manchester City.
“As you can see, we have improved a lot game but that is normal,” Matic added.
“We had a new coach at the beginning of the season and every day we work on that to see what he wants from us and day by day, we are better and better and we show that on the pitch.
“We are in a good way. We are improving as a team. Also individually, I feel that everyone is one step better than before and much better.
“Of course everyone feels better when you win the games.
“I always try to give my best and work hard and __with this season, with better results, it feels better. This season I am physically better and with the results comes confidence. I hope to continue like this.”