Every word Chelsea interim head coach Calum McFarlane said in his post-match press conference after the Blues’ FA Cup semi-final victory over Leeds United at Wembley Stadium
Calum McFarlane spoke to the media in his post-match press conference after Chelsea’s 1-0 win over Leeds United at Wembley Stadium.
The Blues picked up a much-needed victory against their historic rivals at the national stadium to book a place in next month’s FA Cup final against Manchester City. Enzo Fernandez’s header proved to be the only goal of the game for the west Londoners in the Wembley sunshine.
Here is every word McFarlane just said in his post-match press conference:
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Was that exactly what you needed? Does that now dangle a carrot for the players until the end of the season?
Yeah, it was important to get the win. I’m not sure if it was in relation to an FA Cup final or a carrot, I think it was important to break the momentum and the form that we were in. And I thought we were confident that we would do that today, and I think that completely changes the feel within the group. I think that was probably more important and gives us confidence going into the next five games.
Is there also a motivation to win this competition for the fans, because it’s been a tough season for them to have different managers and it’s difficult in the form. Do you think you need to win it for the fans?
We want to win every game for the fans, in every competition, and it’s unfortunately not worked out like that this year. But we want to win every single game from now to the end of the season, as you do in any season. But it’s not extra motivation. We want to do it for ourselves, we want to do it for the fans and the club, everyone. A massive competition in the FA Cup, historic, and we want to win the final and win every Premier League game remaining.
Can you tell us what Enzo Fernandez brings to the team, but also to the squad as a leader?
I said that to him at the end, I said, ‘you like scoring at the back post for me’. And he just laughed. He does that really well, he’s done it all year. It’s one of his biggest attributes, that when you attack down the right, his timing of his runs, his ability to actually get good distance and height on his jump and his heading technique is really good. He’s a winner, he’s got so much talent, he’s got so much fight, he’s massive for this group. And the best thing about Enzo is that he can do a bit of everything, but when it gets tough, you see the fight in him, you see him driving the group on, you see him making tackles, you see him fighting for every loose ball. So he was exceptional today and deserved his Man of the Match.
How impressed are you with his ability to score at that important and decisive moment for Chelsea?
Yeah, it’s something we rely on a lot. That’s why he’s changed position a lot over the last few years. He’s played deeper, he’s played as a No.10, he’s moved about, but I think he’s such a threat in the box that the higher up you play him, and he can drop down and he can drift, but the higher up you play him, he can really cause opposition’s problems in that left half space and attacking the back stick.
How do you explain the difference in level of performance between Tuesday and today?
In all honesty, we haven’t even looked at their Brighton performance. We’ve solely focused on, I know it’s a boring answer, but we have literally solely focused on Leeds. What Leeds do, what threats they have, how we have to combat that, where we can expose them. What I thought we’d done really well in the first half, that’s literally been our whole focus. Making sure that tactically we’re set up, mentally and psychologically we’re ready for what we’re going to face, because Leeds are a very good side that make it very, very tough, and that’s all we’ve focused on.
Can I just ask as well, there was a bit of a ruckus on the touchline after Sanchez, there seemed to be a suggestion that he’d gone down to take the sting out of the game. Can you tell me what happened there and what was going on on the touchline?
I’m unsure about the ruckus, in all honesty. I used it as an opportunity to speak to the players and get some information on that we felt was needed, so I’m not aware of any ruckus, sorry.
Was there a temptation not to have Fernandez as vice-captain given the noise around him?
In terms of making Enzo Fernandez captain, I’m very aware that I’m the interim coach, and Enzo is the vice-captain of this club, so I wasn’t hesitant to make him captain, now that Reece James isn’t fit to play this game.
What did you say to your players post-match?
Yeah, we spoke in the lead-up to the game that we’ve got a minimum of five games left, potentially six if we win against Leeds, and it’s tough in this moment when you’ve been on a losing run, but one moment, one result, one performance can change that, and that’s what we’ve been going after in terms of shifting the momentum in the group. I did reinforce that at the end, but it goes without saying we’re Chelsea Football Club, we need to try and win every game, so that is our target from now to the end of the season.
Eight years ago, you were the assistant manager at Whyteleafe. Is this a pinch-yourself moment?
Before that I’d worked in a Europa League club before that, so no, it felt normal, you don’t even have time to focus on it, you don’t take in the fact that you’re playing at Wembley, you’re just solely focused on making sure the team’s performance is at the highest level, so you don’t have time to take that all in. Maybe at the end of the season, reality will hit, and it’s an unbelievable experience for me, but there’s so much that’s coming thick and fast, that you don’t even have time to take it in, in all honesty.
Good chance against Man City and Pep Guardiola?
Yeah, of course. They’re a great side, he’s a great manager, they’re probably the form team in the league, there’s a lot that they can do to hurt you, but we wouldn’t be going into the game thinking we’re not going to win, we’re going to be confident, we’re going to attack the game, and hopefully put in that sort of performance again.
Why did you choose Tosin Adarabioyo?
It’s a really good question, and it was one of the most difficult decisions in the preparation for this game, because Jorrel Hato has been probably our best player over the last five, six games. But I decided to go with Tosin, mainly down to the Dominic Calvert-Lewin threat, and probably being the best match-up to defend that. Also set-pieces is a massive part of their game, Tosin’s a great leader, a great character, I fully trust Jorrel, and Jorrel could have played in this game, as could Wesley Fofana, so you make decisions as a manager, and you hope you get them right, and I thought Tosin was exceptional today.
