The full transcript from Calum McFarlane’s final pre-match press conference of the season ahead of Chelsea’s Premier League trip to Sunderland this weekend
Calum McFarlane has just completed his pre-match press conference ahead of Chelsea’s final Premier League game of the season away at Sunderland on Sunday afternoon.
The Blues still have an outside shot of finishing in the Europa League on the final day of the campaign but need results to go their way. McFarlane’s focus is solely on getting a positive result at the Stadium of Light.
Here is every word the Chelsea interim head coach had to say on Friday afternoon:
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What’s the latest on Joao Pedro and Levi Colwill?
Yeah, they both trained today. Still got another day to see, but both promising, both hopeful that they’ll be fit for Sunday.
And the rest of the squad okay after Tottenham?
Yeah, no other updates really. Nothing’s changed in that moment. Just now we’ve had a couple of days to process the win in midweek.
How impressed were you by the team’s performance vs Spurs?
I think we were impressed in different ways at times. So we knew it was going to be a challenge physically, mentally. We pushed as hard as we could. I thought the first half we were good value for the 1-0 lead. Played some really nice stuff. Got the second goal and then I felt like maybe we didn’t really have much more to push. So it ended up becoming a bit more about grit and determination and defending our box. That’s not how we want the game to look. But two or three days after a cup final, lots of players who played big minutes in that game. It was a tough game against the top side. So you could see the effects from that game. So I was really pleased with the fight and the grit and the quality at times as well. But great to get a win. We needed that.
And also no doubt for you, great to have that reaction from the fans as well…
Yeah, it was great. Stamford Bridge was brilliant. It’s probably the best atmosphere I’ve seen this season or since I’ve been in the first team. I thought they were brilliant at Wembley as well. And I think it comes from us as well. We have to start games right. We have to start games right and give the fans something to get behind, which we didn’t do in the Forest game. But yeah, it helps so much when that’s the energy and it drives the players on. And it’s just a part of the game. If we can get the crowd like that, it can be a really, really difficult place to play.
As somebody who’s obviously been in temporary charges, is that kind of what it’s all about really when you see the fan reaction like that?
Yeah, definitely. Irrelevant of it being Spurs, which is a massive game for Chelsea and Tottenham, you get that energy, you get that enthusiasm. But that’s what we want to do. We want to win games, we want to win trophies for the fans and have more evenings and more days and more moments like that.
How would you sum up then your stint in charge, do you feel?
Yeah, great learning, great experience, massive challenge. Really thankful for the club, for the opportunity and the trust. Really thankful to the players as well. I think they’ve given us as an interim staff everything they could. So yeah, really pleased, really happy and happy to support the club in whichever way I’m needed.
Trickier than perhaps you’d imagined or about as hard as you thought it would be?
I wouldn’t say it was trickier, it was really challenging. But it’s the Premier League, it’s a top level. For me, the best league in the world, playing against some of the best managers in the world, it’s always going to be a massive challenge. Luckily, we’ve got some very, very good players that make it easier for you in those moments. So yeah, pleased with it all.
One more game coming on Sunday. No doubt you can expect a feisty atmosphere at the Stadium of Light…
Yeah, it’s going to be a great game. Both teams need to win as well. Sunderland have had a brilliant season. They’re a really good side, really challenging side, causing you problems. So yeah, we need one more push, one more big game, three points and hopefully get ourselves up that table. You said Sunderland need a win.
Could you as manager in your last game perhaps have done without them really needing a win to get into Europe?
There’s no point thinking about that really. We knew from the beginning of the season that we’d have Sunderland on the last day of the season. So we need to face what’s in front of us. We’re more than capable of going there and winning that game, but we know we have to be at our best to get three points because they’re a very good side.
What’s your reaction to Cole Palmer being left out of the England squad?
Yeah, I don’t want to comment on that. It’s not anything to do with me. I’ve spoken loads of times about what I feel and how the club feel about Cole. The England manager’s made a decision in that moment. It’s probably best to speak to him. But we have full belief and trust in Cole. We know that he’s a quality player and we’ll be relying on him on Sunday.
How’s he taking it?
Again, I wouldn’t want to comment on that too much. He’s trained today. We haven’t spoken about it.
Could it in the long run actually be quite a good thing for him as he’s finally going to get the summer off which possibly he needs?
I think in life and in football, especially in football I’ve learned that you need to take every setback as a positive. There’s going to be lots of them. There’s going to be losses. There’s going to be moments like this. If you have the right mindset you can turn it into a positive.
How does the club view playing in the Conference League next season?
We haven’t had those conversations. All we’ve spoken about is since I’ve come in, trying to win every single Premier League game to hopefully get in the Champions League, hopefully get to Europe if the Champions League isn’t available.
Would it be a disappointment if you were to finish 8th?
It would be a disappointment if we don’t win on Sunday. That’s all we’re going to focus on.
If you finish 8th in the club and the standing ends up back in that competition?
It would be a disappointment if we don’t win on Sunday. That’s all our focus is on is beating Sunderland. We can’t control the other results. We’ll be fully focused on getting three points against Sunderland.
Is Reece James also going to play Sunday?
Reece has trained today. We’re playing a day by day with Reece. He’s fit, he’s in good condition. We just know that we have to manage Reece correctly over the last couple of games. He played a lot of minutes in the final. I’ll go back to it, it’s a tough game. It’s a really good side, so it’s going to take a lot out of you. We didn’t want to risk him on Tuesday. We felt like we had enough to see the game out, which was correct. We’re hoping to have Reece back on Sunday.
How are all the players who haven’t been picked for the World Cup reacted to the news?
In terms of Cole and the England announcement, that was made at 10 o’clock, I think around 10 o’clock today. We had a team meeting at 10.30 and we trained at 11. We haven’t had time to speak or get a feel for the group. Training was really good today. I was pleased with all the boys’ mindset and mentality. The way they trained was really good. I’m sure we’ll have those conversations in the next couple of days and check in and I’ll see how they are. They’re professionals, they’re top players. We all know, we highlighted it weeks ago, we need to win as many Premier League games as we can from now to the end of the season. We’ve got one more to go and we need to get three points.
Does there almost feel like a point to prove on Sunday?
Football, you’re going to have so many moments like this, whether it be on the pitch, off the pitch, whatever. The reason they’re at this level and able to play for a club of this magnitude is because they can deal with setbacks. If they wouldn’t and they didn’t have that resilience, they wouldn’t be international footballers, they wouldn’t have won competitions they’ve won, they wouldn’t be as good as they are as players. So, they’ll be able to deal with any setback.
How pleased are you with Jorrel Hato recently?
Yeah, it’s always challenging, someone so young, coming from a different league. I think the Premier League is a really unique league and it takes time to get used to it. I’ve had that conversation with Jorrel when I took the interim charge the first time. Since then, since Christmas, I think he’s been probably our best performer, or one of, alongside a few others, but he’s been exceptional. The moment in the game, the block at the end against [James] Maddison is massive for our season, so that kind of summarises his level. We’re really pleased with Jorrel and he’s in a really good place.
