Chelsea’s interim manager, Calum McFarlane, has acknowledged that the upcoming FA Cup final against Manchester City represents the club’s final opportunity to achieve something meaningful this season. Speaking ahead of the Wembley showdown, McFarlane admitted that their recent league performances have fallen well short of expectations.
The Blues are set to face Manchester City for a chance to claim silverware and secure a spot in European competition next term. Despite a disappointing run of form, Chelsea managed to hold Liverpool to a 1-1 draw in their most recent Premier League outing.
When asked if the FA Cup final is their last chance to end the season on a high note, McFarlane responded, “Yeah, I think our recent form in the league has been way below the standard we’d expect and that we’d shown previously.” He added, “It’s an FA Cup final, so we want to win it. It’s a massive competition, a prestigious competition, and the club has history in it as well, having won it eight times. So, yeah, our focus is on that, performing as well as we can against a top side.”
McFarlane expressed confidence that his team can replicate the level of performance they displayed against Liverpool. “I’m confident that we’ll get a similar level, hopefully a similar level of performance, to what we got at Liverpool. I thought we ticked a lot of boxes in that game in terms of what we want from this team and how we get the best version of it. So, I’m confident that we can get that again,” he stated.
The caretaker boss also addressed the ongoing speculation about Chelsea’s next permanent manager, with names like Xabi Alonso, Cesc Fabregas, and Xavi being linked to the role. When asked if fans should be excited about these potential appointments, McFarlane replied, “Yeah, there’s a lot of names linked with the job. It’s not really my place to say who’s going to get it, who should get it, who’s a good manager, or who’s not a good manager. My job is to prepare the team for Saturday and that’s all I’ll be focusing on.”
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has suggested that Chelsea might have an advantage because they do not have a midweek game. McFarlane responded, “Yeah, it’s tough when you have a game midweek and you have a triple game week. It’s tough. We’ve had a lot of them this year, but we’re focused on ourselves, we’re focused on how we prepare. We’re playing against an excellent side and an excellent coach, so we need to be at our best, regardless of whether they’ve had a triple game week or not. That’s what we’re focused on.”