Ruben Loftus-Cheek says he has taken José Mourinho’s recent criticism on the chin and has set his sights on breaking into the Chelsea first team next season.

The 19-year-old, currently on duty with the England Under-21s at the European Championship in the Czech Republic, was the subject of some stern words from his club manager this month after a lacklustre performance against Sydney FC in a friendly during which he was subbed on and subbed off and lasted only 28 minutes either side of half-time.

“He has to learn that at 19 you have to run three times more than the others,” said Mourinho after that match. “You have to play to your limits and not play like a superstar with the ball at your feet because this is not under-18s.”

The words appear to have hit home. “Yes, I listened to what the manager said and I wasn’t at the level I need to do better, and I need to do better if I want to play for Chelsea,” said Loftus-Cheek. “For me that is a reminder that I have to work hard to get in the team.”

The midfielder made his debut for the club in December in the Champions League win over Sporting Lisbon and made his first Premier League start against Liverpool last month. Hopes are clearly high for him at Stamford Bridge and more first-team opportunities are on the agenda next season.

“Hopefully I just need to have a good pre-season,” Loftus-Cheek added. “I want to work really hard. Chelsea is always hard to break into but I believe in myself and if I work hard then hopefully things will go well.”

With England running out of ideas against a dogged Sweden side in Olomouc on Sunday, Gareth Southgate sent on Loftus-Cheek in a final attempt to break the deadlock. It was noticeable that while some of his team-mates seemed encumbered by the pressure of the situation, the youngest member of the England squad (and the fourth youngest player at the tournament) appeared to be one the most relaxed on the pitch in those tense final minutes.

“We know the qualities that he has,” said Southgate, whose side achieved a 1-0 win thanks to Jesse Lingard’s 85th-minute winner and go into their final game against Italy knowing that another victory will certainly take them through to the semi-finals.

“We know it’s early stages for him. He hasn’t looked out of place at all in terms of the training. He’s a different profile of player to any other midfield players and it’s very early stages for him learning the game at first-team level and with us.

“But I think that innocence of youth sometimes … he goes on and plays with the freedom that he did for 20 minutes. He kept looking at the bench for reassurance that he was standing in the right place and that type of thing. He’s a boy that we want to develop at the right speed but we think he’s got a promising future.”