Alonso wants Chelsea in Europe, busy weeks ahead

Xabi Alonso wants Chelsea to return to European competition next season, even though it will bring a heavier schedule. The Blues manager spoke ahead of their trip to Sunderland, where the club will play its tenth Premier League fixture.

Chelsea have had seven days to prepare for the match, but Alonso does not want that luxury next season. With no European football this term, he has had more time with his squad on the training pitches at Cobham since taking charge.

The Spaniard is still embedding his tactical principles and building close bonds with his players. Chelsea are fourth in the top flight, having taken 16 points from their opening nine fixtures.

Sunderland, in contrast, are competing in European football for the first time in more than 50 years. That brings its own pressures and a more punishing schedule, but it is one Alonso wants.

"The ambition is to be back there [in Europe]," the Blues manager said during his pre-match press conference. "[We want it] to be just one season that we are having long weeks. The aim, the desire, the hunger is to have busy weeks, to have to deal with three games a week, and that we'll see each other much more.

"It's not that it hurts now, because you deal with it, but this is where we want to be."

Alonso is a two-time Champions League winner who made 119 appearances in the competition as a player, so he knows the demands of the top table in European football. He wants Chelsea back on that stage, but says it will only come through hard work and consistency in the months ahead.

"We want to be playing in Europe, in big stadiums, having top teams in Europe because I think that we can be there, but we need to earn it to be there.

"We like football and, unfortunately, we can only comment [on what has taken place during a European gameweek]. The feeling is that we want to be there, but we need to deserve that."