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Alvaro Arbeloa came out swinging ahead of an eagerly awaited London derby. In his first fiery comments as Fulham's new head coach, the Spaniard mixed ambition with defiance, insisting his long-standing friendship with Chelsea boss Xabi Alonso will stop at the opening whistle.
Delighted to have completed the signing of Real Madrid duo Gonzalo Garcia and Cesar Palacios, Arbeloa made clear they would be the cornerstone of his new project.
The Fulham coach said, in the pre-match press conference for the Fulham v Chelsea game: "They are two young players, extremely talented and ambitious. They fit perfectly with the style of play we want to implement, and they know very well what I expect of them. I am very happy to have them with me."
Both new signings carry a heavy load. Arbeloa is banking on them to keep Fulham in the Premier League and to build on the outstanding work delivered by his predecessor Marco Silva before his move to Benfica.
"Marco did a wonderful job," Arbeloa said. "The players here were happy and comfortable with him, but now a new era begins. I know what I want and how I want to achieve it, but I also know how difficult this competition is. I think we will be a team that is hard to beat."
Craven Cottage takes centre stage on Monday. Fulham close out the round with a heavyweight clash against Alonso's Chelsea, a match carrying a special flavour between yesterday's friends and today's opponents.
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Asked about the reunion, Arbeloa laid bare the nature of his relationship with the Chelsea coach: "I spoke with Xabi a few days ago, but not about football. Our families are coming to London, we are close friends, but we will give our all for our clubs throughout the ninety minutes. We won't be friends for the ninety minutes, because we want to win this match."