Alonso on joining the Blues, 'brave football' and Fernandez's future

Chelsea boss Xabi Alonso has been speaking to the media for the first time since his appointment. Here are the key lines from Monday's news conference: The Spaniard sees Chelsea as having "great potential" and a "very strong base". He is looking for the club to "be competitive on the pitch, win games and enjoy the process" under his leadership. When asked what he believes the difference between a manager and a head coach is, he explained: "It means that I'm working together with the sporting directors to make the right decisions on a daily basis. We are aligned. We have set our priorities. We know what we want to do." Alonso highlighted that the role is "a challenge" because the Premier League is the "most competitive league in the world right now", but he feels "really honoured, privileged and ready for it all". On what he wants to achieve in his first season at Stamford Bridge: "The goal is to reach Europe next season, for sure, but to reach that goal we need to do many things right. Part of the process will be finding out how we want to play, how we want to see ourselves and how we want to approach each game - that's my job." He continued: "Time will tell, but we are ambitious. We obviously want to be there but, in order to be ambitious, we need to have a shared energy and hunger to want to have success." Alonso already feels his players "want to have a good season", are "really keen" on his vision and are bringing "good energy and excitement" just four days into their pre-season preparations. On the characteristics he is looking for his players to show: "They need to have the hunger. They need to have the passion for the game. They need to want to improve. We all need to be really determined in the smaller details and really strong in our basic principles of how we want to play." Alonso is hoping to showcase an "exciting and brave" brand of football, but he recognises there will need to be "a good mentality" in his squad to achieve that ambition. He added: "We need to build a strong mentality and culture within the club. I'm not going to say what will happen in May because it is too early, but I'm confident and optimistic that we will have a great season." Cole Palmer is "a special talent and a special player" who has come into pre-season in "a good mood with a mindset to have a great season". He confirmed the England international, who missed out on the World Cup squad this summer, will be a "key player" in Chelsea's attack. There has been interest in 22-year-old Alejandro Garnacho from another club. However, right now it is a case of seeing how the situation develops. "Hopefully it ends in the best possible way for all parties," Alonso said. In contrast, Nicolas Jackson will be joining the squad for their pre-season tour in Australia and Asia after returning from his season-long loan at Bayern Munich. Alonso confirmed that he would like Enzo Fernandez to stay at Chelsea beyond this summer. The pair have spoken but he was keen for their conversation to remain private. What do you make of what Alonso had to say in his first news conference? What comments or promises stood out to you the most? Get in touch with your views here [BBC]