Chelsea interim head coach Calum McFarlane: ‘It’s been a crazy 24 hours’
Chelsea interim boss Calum McFarlane said it had been a crazy 24 hours since Enzo Maresca departed (Nick Potts/PA)
Chelsea interim head coach Calum McFarlane described a “crazy 24 hours” after he was asked to step up from the under-21s to lead the first team away to Manchester City on Sunday.
The former Southampton youth coach was called into the club’s Cobham training centre at around lunchtime on Thursday shortly after the decision was taken to part company with Enzo Maresca, and told he would be in charge at the Etihad.
After a pass was hurriedly prepared to enable him to access the first-team building, he led training with the squad on Friday ahead of the journey to Manchester.
Club statement: Enzo Maresca. — Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 1, 2026
Sunday’s game will be McFarlane’s first in charge in senior football.
“It’s been a crazy 24 hours, a whirlwind as you can imagine, but really exciting,” he said. “I can only feel positive. It’s been an amazing experience.”
Maresca left Chelsea on Thursday after the club became unhappy with the Italian’s conversations about possibly succeeding Pep Guardiola at City and his reluctance to heed advice from the club’s medical staff about player fitness.
Strasbourg boss Liam Rosenior was the leading name linked with taking over at Stamford Bridge in the 24 hours after Maresca’s departure, with the Ligue 1 side another club in the portfolio of Chelsea owners BlueCo.
At a pre-scheduled press conference on Friday, the former Hull manager refused to rule out the possibility of moving to west London.
“In life, there are zero guarantees,” he said. “You never know what tomorrow will bring. I’m just doing my job.
“There’s already been speculation. I don’t want to guarantee how long I’ll be here, but I enjoy myself here every day. I intend to continue doing so as long as I’m here. I love this club, but I can’t guarantee anything. Nobody can.”
Rosenior, who was sacked by Hull at the end of the 2023/24 season after guiding the club to seventh in the Championship, took Strasbourg to the Conference League last season after a strong campaign in Ligue 1.
Explaining his decision at the time, Tigers owner Acun Ilicali had intimated the 41-year-old was unable to get the team playing the attacking style of football he desired.
“There’s a lot of noise, a lot of speculation,” said Rosenior on Friday. “But as a coach if you get involved, you fail. My job is here, I love this club.”
In the meantime McFarlane, who only joined Chelsea from Saints last summer, will enjoy a rapid albeit temporary elevation.
His current brief is to prepare the team to face City but beyond that the immediate future is unclear.
“I was officially introduced this morning,” he said. “My pass got changed to let me in. It’s exactly the same as whenever you work. We’re all in it for the same reasons, we all love football.
“There was a really good energy (at Friday training). We can’t ask for any more.
“The energy and enthusiasm was exceptional. They seem really focused, driven, hungry. They know we’ve got a massive game on Sunday. They’re professionals, they’ve done this a long time. They’ve been here before.”
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