Nemanja Matic has spoken out for the first time about his treatment by Mourinho last season
Matic was publicly humiliated by Mourinho, after being brought on as a substitute at half time and then being substituted himself after only 28 minutes during Chelsea’s defeat to Southampton at Stamford Bridge last summer.
The Serbian seems to be back to his best this season under Antonio Conte, helping Chelsea keep a fourth consecutive clean sheet this Sunday against the same opposition.
However, Matic has admitted that he was affected strongly by Mourinho’s actions during that game, and according to The Mirror, was proud of his own conduct during the situation :
“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.
“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.”
Matic showed his unhappiness last season by declining to celebrate his stunning goal in the 3-2 defeat at Sunderland.
However, the midfielder also explained his reasons behind this, saying his frustration was just a result of Chelsea completely collapsing in their title defense and sitting in tenth position at the time.
Matic is clearly much happier this season under the newly-appointed Antonio Conte, who seems to have cleared up whatever issues remained in the dressing room after Jose Mourinho’s ill-fated tenure.
The Portugese manager reportedly had lost the confidence of his players, and rumours of dressing room unrest grew stronger until Mourinho was eventually sacked.
Mourinho is facing his own issues at United now, but the skies seem a lot bluer for Matic and Chelsea.
