After four rounds, the club sit sixth with seven points and have scored ten goals. The Spaniard, who began last season in charge of Real Madrid, described his approach to the job as a recalibration rather than a wholesale rebuild.
"It wasn't a reset — more of an update, I'd say. Making a change or deciding on a different direction," Alonso told Sky Sports.
Alonso, who holds a contract with Chelsea running until the summer of 2030, said his early focus had been on understanding the squad he inherited before making decisions about direction.
"My main focus is on the squad, the team and the players we have — where they are in their careers, what stages we want to take them to, what we have and what we can improve," he said.
"For me those were the important decisions, the important things to analyse before I came here. Once we agreed on which direction we wanted to take, it was about making decisions."
Chelsea play their next league match away at Brentford on Friday, with Alonso stressing that the early phase of simply assessing the squad has now passed.
"Now it's time to compete. It's no longer just about getting better, now we have to work hard together as a team and develop, with the understanding that we need to learn from both mistakes and successes — and that's the stage we're at now," he said.
Alonso's arrival came after Chelsea's ownership overhauled its own structure this month, with Todd Boehly and Mark Walter selling their stakes to majority owner Clearlake Capital.
The Spaniard took over from a Chelsea side that had endured a disappointing campaign under previous management, and his task now is to build on a promising, if unspectacular, start while integrating a squad that continues to blend experienced signings with the club's long-standing focus on developing younger talent.