Jose Mourinho admits he wishes he could have made Juan Mata feel more welcome at Stamford Bridge, following the Spaniard's defection to Man United this week for £37.1m.
The Blues began life post-Mata with a dominant performance against Stoke City in the FA Cup, even if they had to settle for a 1-0 win from Oscar's first-half free-kick.
The Chelsea boss has no regrets about the club's decision to sell, but he was still rueful in his post-match conference.
“The player was not happy with this situation and I feel sorry that I didn't make him happy, but football is football,” said Mourinho, who enjoyed a win on his 51 birthday.
“I build a team around Oscar in that position and Juan is not comfortable on the sides. He tried very hard and he did quite well playing from the right side, but it's not his natural habitat.
“Maybe it was something new for him not to be a first choice, to feel a difficult moment. Maybe that made him as a man, as a player, stronger, but I gave him nothing to be honest and I feel sorry for that.
“But I went in one direction and tried to make him play in a position where he was not comfortable. He gave everything and he played some good matches in that position, but it's not his favourite position and we are speaking about a world and European champion.
“I feel sorry for that and because of that I feel we couldn't stop him going to Man United.”
