Xabi Alonso knows there is much work to be done in pre-season before his Chelsea side is fully formed. Yet the Blues manager has ‘confidence, motivation and a good feeling’ that his players will be ready to make a strong start to the Premier League campaign.
It’s been a little more than three weeks since Alonso began working with his squad at Cobham. Much of our preparation for the campaign ahead has been unseen, but on our summer tour, supporters in both Australia and Asia have had the opportunity to watch the Spaniard lead sessions with his players.
Two friendlies have also taken place. The first came against A-League club Western Sydney Wanderers and the second was against a more familiar foe in the shape of Tottenham Hotspur. Next up is a fixture against Juventus, which is tomorrow in Hong Kong at Kai Tak Stadium.
Alonso accepts that at this stage of pre-season, the Blues are ‘not where we are going to be’ come our opening Premier League game of the season against Fulham. Yet he is pleased with the progress that is being made.
‘We want to have a good season,' Alonso said to the assembled media in Hong Kong. 'Let’s see where we are in May, but for sure we want to have the feeling we are competitive and that we deserve to fight for important things during the season. Time will tell, but that’s our goal.
‘I have confidence, motivation and a good feeling with the team, with the players, about what we want to achieve, so that when we start in the Premier League, we feel we are ready.
'For sure, with the players we have now and the others who will join \[training at Cobham\] – who I’d love to have more time with but it is what it is – the feeling is that we will start in a good way.'
Alonso added: ‘We are in the middle of pre-season; it’s three weeks since we started and there are three weeks to go more or less.
'We analyse every game for what we did right and how we can improve. After the Spurs game, we have analysed it, and tomorrow we face a great team with experienced players and a great coach.
'So, it’s going to be a very interesting and good test.’