London: Chelsea playmaker Juan Mata believes that the west London side "have to start again" following the dismissal of Andre Villas-Boas in order to salvage their season.
The Portuguese manager was shown the door with just nine months at Stamford Bridge under his belt after Saturday’s 1-0 defeat against West Brom.
With former assistant Roberto Di Matteo being promoted into the 34-year-old’s position, Mata now believes that it is time for a fresh beginning in an attempt to kick-start the Blues’ campaign.
The Spanish international believes Chelsea are still capable of winning some silverware this season, despite facing an uphill battle in all three remaining competitions.
Speaking to Chelsea TV on Monday, Mata said: "I think we have to start again, we are not in a good moment."
"We are not in a good run of results but we all want to change it. I think we are ready to change."
The Blues face a testing end to their season, with an FA Cup replay against Birmingham followed by a battle to claim a top-four spot in the Premier League and an uphill struggle against Napoli in the Champions League, in which they trail 3-1 from the first leg.
Nonetheless, the Spain international is convinced that, despite their problematic situation after a poor run and the sacking of Villas-Boas, the Blues still have the quality to end the campaign on a high.
"We have a very good squad and we have two months to achieve our objectives in the Premier League, in the FA Cup and Champions League," Mata declared.
Chelsea's short-lived gamble on Villas-Boas could turn out to be a $100 million mistake by owner Roman Abramovich.
Despite just two years in management, Villas-Boas was brought to London to replace Carlo Ancelotti in June after he led FC Porto to a quadruple of titles, including the Europa League.
Amid the instability and uncertainty, Chelsea have won only three times in 12 Premier League games this season to slip to fifth, out of the Champions League places.
The club stands to lose up to €50 million in income if they fail to qualify for European football's elite club competition, although €10 million ($13 million) could be earned from playing in the Europa League.
On top of that, Abramovich will already be counting the cost of the 28 million Pounds in compensation it took to hire the 34-year-old Villas-Boas and fire Ancelotti.
Then there is the compensation package Villas-Boas is likely to receive after being fired with more than two years remaining on a contract reportedly worth 5 million Pounds annually.
The potential $100 million cost of Villas-Boas' reign won't help the club's attempts to comply with UEFA's strict new financial controls to curb overspending. Chelsea made a record loss of 70.9 million Pounds in the past financial year.
"The football club needs to balance success on the field together with the financial imperatives of this new (UEFA) regime," company secretary Alan Shaw said last month.
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