Manchester United playmaker Juan Mata has revealed that the club's players have grown used to Louis van Gaal's coaching methods.

The 27-year-old believes that the players are now better acclimatised to the Dutchman's management style, which has led the team to second place in the Premier League.

"Every manager has his own way to work and obviously with him it's different than with any other manager. He said when he arrived it was going to be difficult, especially at the beginning. But I think it is about time and getting used to his ­technical way of working – the number of meetings, the training and the games," the Spain international told The Mirror.

"But this is our second year with him so it's normal and logical that we're understanding each other better – not just with him, but as a team on the pitch. We've been playing together more time than last season, so it's normal we're playing good football and that's what we want to do this season – improve again."

Mata cited his goal against Southampton as a perfect example of Van Gaal's system at work.

"Obviously if you're losing you can't do that all the time, because maybe you don't score," he added. "It depends on the situation. But that was a great example of how to manage a situation when you're winning away. You don't lose the ball and then you score the third goal."

United take on rock-bottom Sunderland on Saturday at Old Trafford.