Xabi Alonso says Chelsea were in need of "an update" rather than a full reset when he was appointed manager this summer. The 44-year-old signed a four-year contract in May and took over a Blues side that finished 10th in the Premier League, after parting ways with both Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior during a tumultuous campaign at Stamford Bridge. That meant missing out on European football for the third time in four seasons.
"Not a reset - it was an update, I would say. To change or to take decisions in another direction," he said in an exclusive interview with Sky Sports. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player "My main concern is the squad, the team, the players that we have, in which stage of their career they are, in which moments we want to bring them, what we have, what we can improve.
"Those were, for me, the important decisions, the important things to analyse before coming here. Once we agreed we wanted to take one direction, it was about taking decisions. "Some of them we took, others will have to be taken, but we are convinced with all of them.
"Now it's competition time. It's not about improving, now it's with the team that we have to work hard, improve, knowing that we have to learn from mistakes, from the good things as well, and we are in that moment." Alonso has taken charge of six games in all competitions so far; two wins, one draw and a defeat in the league and two wins from two in the Carabao Cup. Next up, his Chelsea side make the short trip to the Gtech Community Stadium to take on Brentford in a west London derby on Friday night, which is live on Sky Sports.
"If I look for perfection, I will be frustrated always," he said. "What I'm looking for is to reach a good level, good continuity, good solidity; to be a team that knows what they're going to do and have this confidence and this conviction whenever you are facing any opposition. We will get there when some processes are quicker or longer, but we are working to have that feeling and when you see that we are going on the pitch we have that belief that we know what we are going to do.
"The early days are just for games and I'm not that focused about the other teams. I'm very focused about my own team and all my players and the development that we will do, the process and the improvement that we have to make. "We need to learn quick because the competition is furious in the Premier League and I'm sure that the Chelsea of the first day and the Chelsea of the last day in the Premier League will be different and I'm sure that it will be better.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
