Chelsea caretaker manager, Calum McFarlane, has admitted that Sunday’s FA Cup final against Manchester City represents the club’s last opportunity to rescue something from a disappointing season.
The Blues will face City at Wembley, seeking a first major trophy in two years and a route back into European competition next season.
Chelsea head into the final after a difficult run in the Premier League, although they managed to secure a 1-1 draw against Liverpool last weekend.
Speaking ahead of the final, McFarlane acknowledged the importance of the game to Chelsea’s campaign.
“Yeah, I think our recent form in the league has been way below the standard we’d expect and that we’d shown previously.
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“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,” he said.
McFarlane said Chelsea must build on their performance against Liverpool as they prepare to face Pep Guardiola’s side.
“He added, “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.”
The final will also come amid continued uncertainty over Chelsea’s managerial position.
Former Bayer Leverkusen coach, Xabi Alonso; former Chelsea midfielder, Cesc Fabregas and ex-Barcelona manager, Xavi have all been linked with the role on a permanent basis.
McFarlane, however, insisted his attention remains on preparing the team for the final.
“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,” he said.
Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola, recently suggested Chelsea could have an advantage going into the final because they have not played a midweek fixture.
Responding to Guardiola’s comments, McFarlane admitted fixture congestion has been difficult but maintained that Chelsea are focused only on their own preparations.
He said, “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.”
