Juan Mata Responsible for Securing His Own Future at Manchester United

Juan Mata was the odd man out at Leicester on Sunday.

It was Radamel Falcao a week earlier, when Louis van Gaal picked his Manchester United team to play Queens Park Rangers. But that wasn't much of a surprise with the Colombian striker still getting over a serious knee injury.

Mata, on the other hand, had cause to feel hard done by. The Spaniard impressed against QPR, even if it was Angel Di Maria who stole the headlines.

It could quite easily have been Robin van Persie who missed out at the King Power Stadium—or even Wayne Rooney. That's how competitive it's become at Old Trafford.

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It's been more than two weeks since the close of the transfer window, but we are still no closer to knowing if Van Gaal can fit Mata, Rooney, Van Persie, Di Maria and Falcao into the same team.

The obvious conclusion is that he doesn't intend to at all, that he is happy for the five—plus Adnan Januzaj—to fight it out for four spots.

It leaves him with plenty of options on the bench. However, two will always be disappointed. With no games in the Champions League or Capital One Cup this season, there might not be enough games to keep everyone happy.

Mata is the obvious choice to miss out. Van Gaal signed Di Maria and Falcao. He made Rooney club captain and he's a fan of Van Persie.

Mata was presented as a saviour when he arrived from Chelsea in January. Now he's in danger of watching the new era from the bench.

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It will come as no consolation at all, but that's life at a big club. The best teams sign the best players, and it's normal that Mata should find himself in competition with some of them.

Managers are regularly criticised for not having enough depth in their squad. It would be wrong to criticise Van Gaal for having too much of it.

Van Gaal is too experienced to dodge the big decisions. Van Persie scored at Leicester, but he hasn't started the season well. There are also question marks over whether Van Gaal sees Rooney as a striker or No. 10.

Van Gaal went to battle with Rivaldo at Barcelona, and he wasn't afraid to substitute Van Persie at the World Cup. It follows, then, that if Mata deserves to play, he will play.

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That's his challenge: to make sure that when Van Gaal comes to write his team sheet, he can't afford to leave Mata's name off it.

He has been in this situation before. Spain's midfield is one of the strongest in the world, but he's still got World Cup and European Championship winners' medals in his trophy cabinet.

If Mata plays like he did against QPR, then he'll have nothing to worry about. Van Gaal isn't in the habit of selling players that he says "improve his selection."

Mata won't decide when he gets his opportunities to impress. However, it's up to him whether or not he takes them.

Quotes obtained firsthand.