Xabi Alonso believes Chelsea will be ready to make a strong start to the Premier League season despite admitting his team still have plenty of work to do in pre-season.
Alonso has now spent just over three weeks working with his squad, with Chelsea facing Western Sydney Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur during the Australian leg of their summer tour.
Attention has now turned to Wednesday’s friendly against Juventus in Hong Kong before Chelsea eventually return to England and prepare for their Premier League opener against Fulham.
Speaking to Chelsea’s official website, Alonso admitted the Blues are not yet where he expects them to be when competitive football begins.
However, the Spaniard remains encouraged by what he has seen.
“I have confidence, motivation and a good feeling with the team,” Alonso said.
He added: “The feeling is that we will start in a good way.”
Xabi Alonso confident Chelsea will be ready
Alonso has made it clear that Chelsea want to compete for major honours this season, although he accepts progress will take time.
Several players have only recently joined his pre-season group following the World Cup, while Jordan Henderson and others are still due to begin training at Cobham.
Chelsea’s squad has also undergone significant changes during Alonso’s first summer in charge.
That makes the remaining weeks of pre-season important as the manager continues implementing his tactical ideas and assessing his strongest combinations.
Juventus provide the next opportunity to judge that progress.
As ReadChelsea detailed in our full Chelsea vs Juventus preview, Alonso now has several additional players available in Hong Kong, including Geovany Quenda, Pedro Neto, Danny Welbeck and Mykhailo Mudryk.
Alonso described the Serie A side as a strong team with experienced players and believes Wednesday’s game will provide another valuable test.
Chelsea may still be several weeks away from reaching the level their new manager wants.
His early confidence suggests he expects them to be ready when the results begin to matter.
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