Diego Costa has said he will never change his approach – no matter how many people become upset, or bruised, along the way. The Chelsea striker bludgeoned his way to 20 goals in a rollercoaster first season in England following his £32m move from Atlético Madrid but also attracted controversy, receiving a three-match ban for an off-the-ball stamp on Liverpool’s Emre Can in January.

“I don’t think I have done anything malicious; I’ve not had a red card so why change anything about the way I am?” said Costa. “I’ve always played this way for all the sides I’ve been with and I’ve always scored a lot of goals in this style.

“The key for me is to score goals and win trophies. If I change in any way, I’m not going to be the same player. I feel very much at ease and neither the manager nor anyone else at the club has said anything to me, and at no point have I shown any lack of loyalty at all and so that is good enough for me.”

Costa is looking ahead to the upcoming battles with relish. Mourinho has hinted here that Chelsea may operate with two strikers this season, the manager not always sending out Costa as his battering ram. The 26-year-old could be partnered with Loïc Rémy, the France international, or Radamel Falcao, his former striker partner from Atlético. Either way, Costa cannot wait.

“Goals are what count for me,” he said. “It’s not about a battle with defenders. Fighting hard, giving everything and working hard on the field you have to combine with the goals you score. It doesn’t matter if defenders want to battle with me or not, I will just be trying to do my job as well as I possibly can.

“Do I enjoy the aggression of English football? No, I like to play football, I like to score goals, I like to do things well. You can get different types of games, some which are more of a battle, some which are less hard fought. I think it depends on each game, how you feel a game happens to be going, how you are playing at a given time, as no two games are the same.”

Falcao finally joined up with the Chelsea squad here this week and was looking sharp in training as Mourinho put the Colombian through his paces.The Chelsea manager remains typically confident and bullish about the prospect of Falcao’s difficult spell at Manchester United last season not being repeated at Stamford Bridge.

Costa knows Falcao well following their time in La Liga – they won the Copa del Rey together against a Real Madrid side managed by Mourinho – and welcomes his old friend to England.

“I’ve spent a couple of seasons with Falcao and I reckon things went fairly well,” Costa said. “He did a lot for me and he’s a great striker.

“Whether the manager chooses to play us alongside each other, that’s one for him to decide, but let’s hope he gets here soon because he is a very talented player who needs a bit of affection, and people here cannot wait for him to arrive to help us out because he is a key player who will be decisive for us.

“He’s a top bloke too. He gets on very well with his team-mates and he will help us a lot off the field, in the dressing room. He is a really big-hearted guy and that’s the most important thing. He is going to get everything he needs. And here’s hoping he can be the same player that he has been throughout his career.

“I think he’ll be fine. I suffered an injury similar to his in 2011 and now I’m fine. All he needs is the consistency of regular football and to feel loved, which I think he’ll get from the manager, as well as his teammates who will all be there for him.

“I think it’s good for us that he didn’t have the best of seasons as that’s why he’s now with us. Radamel knows the sort of manager Mourinho is. He’s a manager who is liked by players because he trusts and backs them. He doesn’t sign a player just for the sake of it.”