Every word Calum McFarlane said in his pre-match press conference ahead of Chelsea’s huge FA Cup final clash with Manchester City on Saturday afternoon
Calum McFarlane has just completed his pre-match press conference ahead of Chelsea’s FA Cup final against Manchester City on Saturday.
The Blues are looking to salvage something from an underwhelming season at Wembley Stadium this weekend, with Pep Guardiola’s City standing in their way.
McFarlane has spoken to the media to preview the final. Here is the full transcript from his press conference:
Did Reece James come through the Liverpool draw okay?
Yeah, he’s trained well this week. Happy with Reece. Good to get him some minutes before he played well when he came on as well. So, yeah, largely positive around Reece.
Good to go over next couple of months for England?
I can only comment on the last week probably and the lead-up to the Liverpool game. We were confident he was able to play those minutes in Liverpool. He came through them well. He’s trained well this week. So, yeah, we’re really hopeful we can finish the season in that sort of form.
Same with Levi Colwill?
Same sort of story. He has a really good rehab. He’d played a few games before. He played for us against Forest. I think his first game back was he played for the 21s two or three times. So, again, a really good training week for Levi. He was exceptional against Liverpool. So, again, we’re really hopeful.
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Is Colwill focused on getting in the England squad for the World Cup?
I actually haven’t had that conversation with Levi. I think he’s naturally focused on getting himself back, playing for Chelsea. And once he’s done that now, I’m assuming he wants to keep performing at the level he did against Liverpool. I can’t give you an answer on that one.
As long as he’s fully fit and well and ready to go, as far as you’re concerned?
Yeah, he played really well against Liverpool. He was exceptional. He speaks a lot about being able to put that sort of performance in after that time off at a really difficult place. He’s trained well this week and we’re looking forward to potentially having him on Saturday as well.
How are Pedro Neto and Alejandro Garnacho?
Pedro Neto and Ale Garnacho have trained well this week, so looking really good, really hopeful with them as well. So, yeah, positive signs.
Is this the only chance to rescue something from the season?
Yeah, I think our recent form in the league has been way below the standard we’d expect and that we’d shown previously. It’s an FA Cup final, so we want to win it. It’s a massive competition, prestigious club’s got history in that competition as well, winning it eight times. So, yeah, our focus is on that, performing as well as we can against the top side.
What have you done this week to ensure your players perform at a similar level as they did vs Liverpool?
Yeah, I’m confident that we’ll get a similar level, hopefully a similar level of performance 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 that. So, I’m confident that we can get that again.
Should Chelsea fans be excited with some of the names being linked with the vacant job?
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, who’s not a good manager. My job is to prepare the team for Saturday and that’s all I’ll be focussing on.
Pep Guardiola said Chelsea will have an advantage because of no game this week – agree with that?
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, irrelevant if they’ve had a triple game week or not, so that’s what we’re focused on.
You should be fresher then, presumably.
Who’s to say?
Just one on Cole Palmer, I think it’s probably fair to say that he hasn’t been at his top level this season. Having worked for them all season, why do you think that is and what can you do to try and get the best out of him?
I haven’t said he’s not at his top level.
No, I’m suggesting that maybe he is.
You’re suggesting that? I’m not suggesting that.
So how do you think he’s performed?
I think he’s had some really good games for us this year, he’s had a lot of injuries that he’s had to deal with.
I was really pleased with Cole on Saturday, I thought he had moments where he showed his level and his quality so I’m really hopeful that Cole can produce that from now until the end of the season. He’s a top player, he’s proved that many times.
Can I ask about Joao Pedro’s season and the impact he’s had?
Joao’s had a great year, played many different positions but he seems to have settled into that No.9 role and he’s got everything you’d want from a top No.9. Big summer coming up for him with the World Cup at Brazil but he’s been excellent for Chelsea and hopefully we continue that for the last three games.
Just finally, what will this mean for you leading out Chelsea in an FA Cup final? I think I’m right saying a lot of your family are Chelsea fans, is that right?
My girlfriend’s family are Chelsea fans, not my family.
So what would it mean to them and to you as well?
Well they are my family, to be fair, I shouldn’t say that should I? But yeah they’re massive Chelsea fans, her dad and uncle have been season ticket holders for 50 years. She’s a massive Chelsea fan so yeah they’re very proud and it means a lot to all Chelsea fans. It’s a massive game and I hope we can put in a performance for all the fans.
You’ve got a few tickets for them?
Yeah they’ll be at the game.
Are you proud? Are you nervous? Are you excited?
Probably all those emotions I’d imagine, I can’t tell you exactly how I’m going to feel on the day. Trying to make it as normal as possible, I’ve taken a few games now at this level. Not a game of this magnitude of course, an FA Cup final, but I’ll try and stay as level as possible. The players, the process, the way we work will be the same so I’m sure I feel a lot of emotions on that day.
How different is it to the semi-final?
I think it will be very similar from our standpoint. We’ll prepare, we’ll have the same process in the way we work day-to-day. Whether it’s meetings with players, individual meetings, it will all be the same and we’ll try and make it as normal as possible and try and get the same sort of performance we got against Leeds and Liverpool. It’s a massive game, you can’t hide away from that and we all want to win that game.
Pressure to win?
I think when you’re at a club of this magnitude and like you’ve mentioned, the history that this club’s got in this competition and winning silverware, there’s always pressure. There’s pressure to win every game. Like this game, there’s always pressure and you have to accept that and embrace that.
Winning gets Chelsea in Europe. Does that make things easier for the next manager?
Yeah, that’s very true.
How much of an impact have the leadership team had in recent weeks when the form hasn’t been very good?
I’ve actually been happy with the whole group and the way the whole group’s responded. There’s a lot of senior players in the squad, players out of the squad. The level of professionalism has been shown at all times. There’s obviously players with great experience in there that have played in big competitions, had big moments in their career that you want their opinion, you want how they feel about the game. You want to have that dialogue with those players. I have that with pretty much the whole squad, so I’m happy with the whole squad.
Have Enzo Fernandez and Marc Cucurella both played a big part?
I think Enzo and Cucurella have got Man of the Match in two of the last three games. I think that speaks for itself. They’re big players for this team, big players for this club. At any moment they can make a difference in football matches. I’m really pleased with both of them.
Is Rob Sanchez fit enough to start?
Yes, same news as the other lads, to be honest. Really positive, he’s trained well this week and we’re really hopeful to get him to Saturday.
Is that a big decision? Sanchez or Jorgensen?
Lots of decisions.
Is Rob your go-to guy?
I don’t think I’m going to reveal my starting line-up on two days before the game.
Do your players have the belief they can beat Man City? Winless in fine years against them…
Yes, definitely. They’ve got the belief they can beat anyone. We just know that we have to be the best version of ourselves. They’re an exceptional side, with an exceptional coach and exceptional players. They’re going to be a challenge, but we also have some really good players. These players have shown that if they’re out there best, they can beat anyone.
