Juan Mata has become the latest Chelsea player to deny suggestions that the club's senior players contributed to the decision to sack Andre Villas-Boas earlier this month.

A number of reports claimed that the likes of John Terry, Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba influenced owner Roman Abramovich in his verdict to part company with the Portuguese coach.

However, Mata has put the dismissal of Villas-Boas down to a conflict in styles.

"He was the manager and we all put our faith in him. He had good ideas and he wanted to change things in the club but in the end it is the results that matter. Nobody got rid of him," Mata told the London Evening Standard.

"He came with the idea of how he played at Porto - the pressure high up the pitch, robbing the ball and always being very close to the opponents' goal with a very offensive football.

"But in the end he has this style of football and perhaps Chelsea were used to a different style, perhaps a more physical one with a lot of chances in a small space of time. It was maybe imposing a style when the team were not used it."

Mata joined the Blues last summer from Spanish club Valencia.