Chelsea’s new manager Xabi Alonso said on Monday there was “good energy” around the club as he begins his mission to revive their fortunes, but admitted it is still too soon to define what would make his first season a success.
The Spaniard officially assumed the role on July 1 and will oversee his first competitive match on Tuesday in Sydney when Chelsea take on Western Sydney Wanderers.
Alonso faces a significant challenge as he looks to restore Chelsea to the race for major trophies following a disappointing 10th place finish in the Premier League last season, which also saw the club miss out on European competition.
Chelsea last lifted the Premier League title 10 years ago under Italian coach Antonio Conte.
The former Bayer Leverkusen boss, who has strengthened his squad with several pre-season arrivals led by Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa, expressed satisfaction with what he has seen from his players so far.
“We want to build a competitive team. We are in that process. We have great quality, great talent,” he said.
“We need to know what it takes to compete in the Premier League, and we want to have a squad with the right balance between quality and mentality.
“But I think that we are starting the new season with good energy, that’s going to be important.”
Alonso established himself as one of Europe’s most highly rated coaches after guiding Bayer Leverkusen to an unbeaten Bundesliga and German Cup double during the 2023/24 campaign.
However, his spell at Real Madrid lasted only seven months. He was appointed last year before leaving the Spanish giants in January.
Known for his possession based approach, Alonso successfully deployed a 3-4-2-1 formation at Leverkusen, but he stressed that flexibility will also be a key part of his philosophy at Chelsea.
“We will be flexible in our tactics, in our approaches, game plans,” he said, while making it clear he does not intend to completely overhaul the team’s style from last season.
“It’s not that I’m changing everything. It’s about updating. It’s about developing something that they have done with new concepts that each manager has.
“But the good thing is that many things that I like they have already done. So now it’s about changing or updating a few other things.”
Chelsea have gone through several managers since their last Premier League triumph, with none able to bring the title back to Stamford Bridge. Alonso is now under pressure to end that long wait.
Despite the expectations, the 44-year-old, who signed a four-year contract, insisted he is not ready to set public targets for the campaign.
“I don’t want to talk too early about what’s our goal,” he said.
“We want to be as high as possible, and for that we need to work hard. We need to develop this team with new players, with new ideas, but sometimes it takes longer, sometimes it happens quicker.
“But so far, a good feeling, good energy. The players are working hard, and that’s what we want.”
