Xabi Alonso urged Chelsea to develop a “hunger” for victory and revealed he has spoken to midfielder Enzo Fernandez in his first press conference as Blues boss at Stamford Bridge.
The 44-year-old also shared his views on the ongoing World Cup and his memories from his own involvement in Spain’s victory in 2010, as well as the club’s plans for their late-returning players from the global showpiece.
The former Real Madrid boss was more keen to discuss his philosophy rather than make any predictions about how Chelsea might fare in his first season in charge but insisted European qualification was among the targets.
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“For sure that’s a goal,” he said. “But to reach that goal, you need to do many right things and to be part of that process, how do we want to play, how we want to see ourselves, how we want to approach a game wherever we go.
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“That’s my job. That’s why I am really looking forward to having the whole squad. At the moment we have some bids, but early days so far.
“But for sure, we want to be there and time will tell. But we are ambitious and we in Chelsea need to share that energy, that ambition, as well as that hunger to want to have success.”