Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has given me belief in my battle to hold off Petr Cech, says Thibaut Courtois

Thibaut Courtois has revealed how Jose Mourinho gave him the confidence to fight off the challenge of Petr Cech and establish himself as Chelsea’s No1 goalkeeper.

Courtois starred for Chelsea in their Champions League draw at Paris St Germain on Tuesday after being dropped for the Premier League win against Everton.

The Chelsea boss claimed Courtois was rested but the Belgium international appeared to have fallen out of favour with Mourinho following mistakes in his previous two appearances.

But Courtois, who spent the last three seasons on loan at Atletico Madrid, is enjoying working under Mourinho and said: “I think he’s a very good trainer. He has many trophies. He’s a good motivator.

“He doesn’t have to say a lot to get the best out of me. I love to play football, so when I step out on the pitch, I try to do the best I can for the team. At half-time he always says things the way they are — and in a good way — so everybody is sharp for the second half.

“Chelsea called me back from Atletico so naturally I hoped to play this season. But I knew with Petr it would always be difficult to play every match. He’s a top keeper. But when I started the season playing, it gave me more confidence.”

Courtois is already regarded as one of the most outstanding goalkeepers in the game but he insists there is a lot more to come. He added: “To win the [Spanish league] title with Atletico last season was for me my best year but I’m trying to get better and better.

“I’m young, only 22 years old and I can still improve. I have to and I can on everything.

“You’re never perfect, you should never get to a position where you say, ‘I can’t improve on anything else’.

“In the beginning I adapted quickly to the Premier League, the crosses and that stuff.

“The referee doesn’t whistle that fast for a foul on the keeper and you know teams will put the ball in the box. So if you can come out to catch it, you help your team-mates a lot.”

Chelsea go into their home match against Burnley tomorrow with England defender Gary Cahill once again facing a battle to keep his place in the team ahead of Kurt Zouma.

While not picking favourites, Courtois admits playing behind Cahill and captain John Terry helped him settle quickly at Stamford Bridge. “When you have two players with that Premier League experience, it’s good for a goalkeeper,” he said.

“In the first few games I had to adapt because I’d spent three years behind Diego Godin and Miranda at Atletico. I got used to the way they play, how they defend, run and cover the space and now it’s different.

“But from the first games we had good communication and it has worked well.”