Xabi Alonso has just completed his pre-match press conference ahead of Chelsea‘s Premier League season opener away against Fulham at Craven Cottage.
The Blues manager faced a busy presser with plenty of questions, as expected, regarding midfielder Enzo Fernandez, who faces an uncertain future at Stamford Bridge. Alonso was also asked about the latest injury news, the club’s transfer plans, and that all-important clash with the Cottagers.
football.london were at the press conference to bring you, as usual, the full transcript:
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Ready for the start of the season?
We feel ready. We’ve prepared the whole pre-season these six weeks with some coming, some players from the first day, or the ones coming later. But the desire, the ambition, the hunger to start the Premier League is already in the building in each training and we’re looking forward to it.
João Pedro is set to sign a new contract. He’s got the number 9 shirt now as well. Just how important is he for you?
Yeah, we talk a lot with João because he’s not just a great player. He has a great personality and I think that his development as a great player and as a leader is very noticeable every day in each game. So he has this focus and this desire to have a great season, scoring goals but helping the team. I’m very happy, I’m very impressed with his personality as well and now we need to help him reach his goals.
You’ve made a number of signings this summer already. Are you happy with the squad you have or do you think there could be more additions?
I’m really happy. I think that we have made many right choices. Very good balance in terms of quality, in terms of personality, maturity, different stages of the career. We’ve got good momentum and we are in a good position I would say.
Will Enzo Fernandez be a Chelsea player beyond deadline day?
Enzo is a Chelsea player. He’s a top, top player. He’s training really well since he started 10 days ago with the team, very integrated. We are happy with him and he’s getting ready for Monday.
Has he told you that he wants to stay at Chelsea?
He’s training really well and I see him with a really good attitude and that’s what we want. Everyone is trying their best to prepare for the kick-off of the Premier League.
There are around 40 senior players at the club right now. Can you talk us through the thinking between splitting the players into different groups and what that means for the players that aren’t involved in the main group?
No, we are managing well with group dynamics. Whenever we need, we have different groups, so it’s not been an issue at the moment.
Danny Welbeck was training on his own today. What’s the latest with him? Could he be involved on Monday?
He can be involved. He just needs a couple of days not training that much because of a little thing. But we are expecting him to be back on Saturday. We need to go day by day, but that’s the plan at the moment.
How big a challenge is this for you personally and how different a challenge is it to what you’ve faced so far in your managerial career? What are your targets?
Well, it’s a challenge for everyone. We are all together in this new start of the season. But the main thing for me is the targets and the goals that we share all together. We have the ambition to have a great year. We don’t need to think about what’s going to happen late in the season. What we can control is what we do, how we start the season, how we prepare for the games. For sure now the only focus at the moment is Fulham, but for sure Premier League is challenging. Each game is going to be challenging. We are going to be improving game by game. I’m sure that the team that started Premier League and the one that’s in December, even in November, will be better because everything takes time. It’s a process, but we feel that we can have a good start and that’s so important.
The players who have been in the World Cup, players like Morgan Rogers, will they need a bit longer to get up to speed? Are they ready to go flat out from the start?
Let’s see. We will check, we will assess, but for sure because of the World Cup they came a little bit later and they would need maybe a little bit more time, but they are for sure selectable for the line-up.
Is top four a must for a club like Chelsea this season?
Ambition is to be as high as possible. Let’s see where we are in May, but it’s still a long way to go there. So for that you need to earn points and to win from early days and that’s our goal. Time will tell, but for sure the hunger to have success, the ambition to do well, to create good energy, good spirit within the team, that’s the first goal because that helps you be more competitive and win more games.
What’s your relationship with Alvaro Arbeloa like? What will it be like facing him?
Of course you can have a relation, but once on the pitch, no friends, no past. It’s just the 90 minutes that we are playing, fighting for each club and after it’s another thing.
There’s no European football for you this season, so does that give you quite a significant advantage against all your rivals who are playing European football?
We’ll have more time to prepare each game, that’s for sure. That’s a fact. After we need to prove that we use the time in the right way, that we have enough players in good momentum to approach each game. For sure we’ll have wanted it, but it is what it is and we need to use the time properly.
Where are you planning to use Reece James?
He’s flexible in his game, but he needs to feel important. I think that’s the main thing. Not just because of the role he has as a captain, but also because of the quality he gives to the next thing. Wherever he plays, as a right-back or as a midfielder, normally he makes the next thing better because of his quality, because of his game intelligence, his experience, his composure with the ball. So it’s good that we have players that can play in different positions. Not just him, other players as well. I see him in a good mood, in a good mindset. For sure the club means so much to him and we want to have a good start, a fresh start with good momentum. That’s why the start is so important on Monday.
Lots of the boys have highlighted your skill in the training sessions. They say you can make the starting line-up for Chelsea today. They enjoy actually playing with the manager in training and it helps them get better.How important is that for you to actually play football?
First, no chance [of making the starting XI] for the manager. It is how I feel it. I like to be close to the players, I like to be involved in the trainings. I think that you need to be authentic and that’s something that for me to have this close relation, to have this close impact with the players is so important. Because I think that my main goal is to help them, to help them understand, to help them know what to do. After they need to be on the pitch, on the game day, they have control. They need to decide, they need to do everything. But for that, we can prepare. And for that preparation, this is where I have my goal.
And to confirm, do you have your designated penalty takers? Are they the same this season to last season?
I don’t know which ones were last season, but yes, we have our own decisions.
Do you want to say?
No, sorry. Hopefully we have a penalty and you can see that on Monday.
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How is it preparing for an away derby for your first game?
Well, football is about mentality, it’s about competitiveness, it’s about going through good moments in a game, rough and tough moments in a game to deal with different momentums. It’s so important. And each game, starting on Monday, it’s going to be a nice battle.
Marco Palestra seems like a really unusual player in a good way in terms of how comfortable he is with both feet. You’ve used him on both sides more recently on the left in pre-season. Is that where you see him starting the season?
I would say it’s probably unusual in England because in Italy, for example, it’s quite common. And he has had this education in Italian football to play both profiles. It doesn’t matter if you are right-footed or left-footed, you are versatile. So he has this option, this energy. He’s had a great impact as well with the changing room. He’s integrated really well. He’s a great guy. And this freshness that he has brought, apart from his football qualities, it’s a very great addition to the club. But yes, he’s something different. Maybe not that common here, but in Italy it’s quite common.
How has Levi Colwill been in pre-season, having had such a long time off most of the season? Is there any way in that having had that time away is helpful?
Yes, I would say so. I would say that having a proper pre-season has helped him in taking the right steps in the right moment. Not trying to rush it too quickly because of what he had last year. Even last year he finished playing in a good way. And now after the pre-season we are expecting that he feels well and that he’s with confidence and with the fitness to have him in the best level. Because if he’s feeling okay, he’s for me one of the best centre-backs in the world because of his composure, because of his presence. So complete, so dominant and Levi is going to be a key player for us.
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