John Terry revealed he was "shocked" to be substituted at half-time in Chelsea's second Premier League match of the season against Manchester City.
The Chelsea captain was removed from league action for the first time in his career while under Jose Mourinho's leadership, with the Portuguese boss later claiming the decision was for purely tactical reasons.
The 34-year-old had been an ever-present during Mourinho's second reign at Stamford Bridge, playing every minute of the 2014-15 campaign, but he did not appear for the second half.
Four months on from the 3-0 defeat at the Etihad Stadium, Terry confessed he was surprised by the decision.
"Listen, you take it in your stride. I was more shocked than anything," he told the Daily Mail.
"But I took it and went out to watch the second half. I’ve got that mentality where you go in the next day, work your socks off and think to yourself, 'Right, I’ll show you.'
"There is no point moaning, sulking or staying in the dressing room. That’s not me. I’ve got to where I am in my career by fronting things up. So I did and I knew, sooner or later, he’d put me back in."
Terry was partly at fault for Sergio Aguero's opener but felt he typically produced a satisfactory performance against one of the world's top finishers.
"It’s a game-and-a-half into the season. Against Swansea on the opening day, I thought I played well," he said.
"I had a shaky 45 minutes against Aguero, who is one of the best strikers in the world.
"But if you go back to the last seven or eight games I’d played against him, he hadn’t got a sniff. Maybe I was due that. But you do lose a bit [of confidence] for sure.
"I think you pay more attention [to the criticism], too."
