Calum McFarlane sure potential FA Cup final will motivate out-of-form Chelsea
Chelsea interim head coach Calum McFarlane is sure the prospect of reaching an FA Cup final will be motivation for his players following their woeful league run that led to Liam Rosenior’s sacking.
Five consecutive defeats with no goals scored is the club’s worst run since 1912 and Tuesday’s 3-0 hammering by Brighton proved the final straw for Rosenior, who was dismissed three months into a six-and-a-half-year contract.
Sunday’s semi-final against Leeds could not have come at a worse moment but McFarlane, who has been handed the reins until the end of the season, insisted the capitulation at the Amex Stadium – widely considered to have been the worst performance of the season – will not inhibit the team as they seek a return to Wembley in May.
“Really disappointing,” he said of Tuesday’s loss that prompted the hierarchy to remove the manager. “It was hard to watch that, hard to see that. To be dominated from minute one to minute 90. Brighton were very good but we were nowhere near our levels.
“Everything has been done that we possibly can to make sure the lads are as best prepared as they can be for what Leeds are going to throw at us and what we have to stand up to. I believe the players will be motivated to get to an FA Cup final.”
Chelsea’s run has seen them all but eliminated from contention to qualify for next season’s Champions League.
The alarming nature of recent defeats, most significantly in losing 3-0 to Everton and Manchester City before collapsing on the south coast last week, was ultimately what prompted the club to remove Rosenior in order to prevent a disappointing season from further unravelling.
By the time Chelsea play against Nottingham Forest on May 4 it will have been two months since their last league goal, in a 4-1 win over Aston Villa.
The defeat to Brighton appeared to demonstrate that the players were no longer responding to the manager, and it is understood that there is an acceptance within the club that appointing a head coach with such limited experience was a mistake.
“Everyone at the club has to feel responsible, staff and players,” said McFarlane. “The players know that, the staff know that, we’ve all spoken.
“We know that the recent form has not been good enough and we’re going do absolutely everything we can, work as hard as we possibly can, to make sure we can put in a good performance.
“A lot of football is about momentum. We’ve had a bit of a losing streak and that can change with one positive result, one positive performance.”
Published: by Radio NewsHub