Alonso: Motivated for more of the same.

Marcos Alonso can’t wait for his second season at Stamford Bridge to start, and the Spaniard is intent on making it as successful as his first.
Alonso joined on transfer deadline day last summer and it was his introduction into the team at left-wing-back, at the time of a change in formation to 3-4-3, that proved such a key factor in our subsequent record-breaking 13-match winning run, and the glorious title triumph that followed.
‘It was a very good first year but it was not easy at all!’ he stresses.
‘There was a lot of work and a lot of training behind that. All the team did great last season and we have to do the same now: work as we did last year, train hard and for sure with the players we have the results will come again this season.
‘We want to have a better year than we did last year.’
In his first interview with the official Chelsea website, nearly 12 months ago now, Alonso revealed a personal ambition to become one of the best left-backs in the world. The way things turned out, he has only played in that position once for us, on his debut in the League Cup at Leicester. So how does he assess his own development since then?
‘I used to play left-back and I started playing wing-back. I don’t mind, honestly. I like to play and help the team in any role the manager wants I try to do my best. It’s good to be able to play more than one position to give different options to the manager.
‘I’m always improving and getting better and that’s what I have to keep doing. It’s hard to say because football can change very quickly, but I have to keep working if I want to be one of the best.For now, the 26-year-old’s attention is firmly on the start of our title defence. Alonso is thoughtful as he considers what our prospects are this season.
‘Motivation for us is easy. The most difficult thing for us is the competition. There are so many top teams, they have strengthened their squads with lots of new players. It’s going to be harder than last year – we are going to have to fight as hard or even harder than last year to compete for the title again.
‘We have had a good pre-season with lots of work and we can’t wait to kick off. I’m really looking forward to it.
‘It’s great to be back at Stamford Bridge and as with last year the supporters will be very important again. We start with a tough game against Burnley and we will need them. Hopefully we can have another good year together.’