Xabi Alonso will hope to command the respect of the dressing room when he begins his new role as Chelsea manager at the end of the season
Xabi Alonso has been warned that his spell at Chelsea ‘won’t end well’ if he fails to earn the respect of a select ‘four or five players’ in the dressing room. The new Blues manager, who recently signed a four-year contract at Stamford Bridge, will begin his role on July 1, becoming the first to take up that position since Jose Mourinho in 2013.
Alonso has been given more authority than his predecessors by senior officials, hence the job title. football.london understands that the Spaniard will work closely with Chelsea’s five-strong sporting leadership team in the summer transfer window.
It’s believed that he and the directors are aligned over the areas of the squad that need to be improved on at the end of the season. Although Alonso, who stepped down as the Real Madrid boss at the start of the year, appears to have been given the keys, William Gallas reckons he still faces an uphill task.
The former Premier League defender has warned Alonso that he needs to tackle the egos, otherwise his tenure ‘won’t end well’. Speaking to BetVictor, Gallas said: “The new generation of players have big egos when they’ve had a few great games, and that’s it.
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“It’s an even bigger problem when you only have young players in your squad, as Chelsea do. You need to know how to speak to them. Xabi Alonso is from my generation.
“I think he would be able to communicate with the squad in an old-school way but also adapt to the new generation. If he doesn’t change his approach to the new generation, then it will not end well for him.”
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Gallas singled out Enzo Fernandez and Marc Cucurella as troublemakers. The 48-year-old slammed the Chelsea duo for casting doubt over their futures at Stamford Bridge during the March international break.
However, he also argued that Liam Rosenior should have dealt with the situation privately. Gallas continued: “Enzo Fernandez and Marc Cucurella shouldn’t have made those comments in the international break.
“You can’t make those comments when you’re a senior player in the squad and when you’re playing for one of the biggest clubs in the country. But, Liam Rosenior shouldn’t have addressed it publicly in the press conference, that needs to be dealt with privately.
“If you speak negatively about a player in public nowadays, they are very offended and will blame the manager for poor performances. I think Alonso will know exactly who to look out for, especially Enzo and Cucurella.
“But there are four or five players he’ll need to speak to in a different way compared to the rest. The players need to know that, simply, they are not good enough.”
Chelsea are in grave danger of failing to qualify for either of UEFA’s three club competitions next season. At best, the Blues can squeeze into the Champions League by finishing sixth, as long as Aston Villa come fifth and win the Europa League later this month.
At worst, Chelsea can sink into the bottom half of the Premier League and miss out on European football altogether. Mapping out next season for Alonso, Gallas said: “Even if they don’t play in Europe next year, that Chelsea squad is not strong enough to win the Premier League next year.
“It doesn’t matter who the manager is, the players are not good enough. The club needs to be rebuilt again. If Chelsea don’t have European football, their target for 2027 should be to qualify for the Champions League and win one domestic trophy, like the FA Cup or Carabao Cup.
“That will be a positive step forward in rebuilding the club…”
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