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Chelsea interim manager Callum McFarlane is on his way to a family holiday windsor When he got the call on Thursday, he was tipped to be a favorite for Sunday’s trip to Manchester City.
Under-21 national team coach MacFarlane, whose first game in charge of the senior team will be against a six-time player Premier League winner Guardiolawas transferred to the club Cobham Arrive at the training center around lunchtime after receiving calls from sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart.
There he was told he would be in the dugout at the Etihad Stadium after his sudden departure. Enzo Maresca earlier in the day.
Strasbourg boss Liam Rogniol remained the leading candidate to replace the Italian long-term on Friday and appeared to open the door to a move to Stamford Bridge when asked at a pre-arranged press conference, saying: “In life, there are zero guarantees.
“I love (Strasbourg), but I can’t guarantee anything. No one can.”
The Ligue 1 side, owned by BlueCo, the investment group that owns Chelsea, could set up a move to Stamford Bridge, although the group must also consider who might replace Alsace’s Ronniol.
But now it’s McFarlane who needs to get a new pass out quickly so he can get into the first-team building at Cobham in charge.
“I was actually on my way to the Windsor Light Show with my family,” McFarlane said. “I got a call saying ‘When can you come in?’. I said I could be there in an hour. The wife wasn’t too happy about it.
“I flew over and they explained what had happened and said you will be ready to play against Manchester City on Sunday. We really support you and trust you and wish you the best of luck.
“Once they explained the situation and we figured out what I wanted the staff to look like, we started calling around and everyone was on hand within a short period of time.”
McFarland only joined Chelsea this summer from Southampton, where he was in charge of the Under-21s for two years and before that also took charge of the Under-18s.
Prior to that, he spent three years at Tromsø in Norway, followed by three years at Manchester City, working in various roles for the under-15s, under-16s and under-18s. He has previously worked as youth team coach at Fulham and Crystal Palace.
“We have limited time,” said McFarlane, who took part in first-team training on Friday morning and will undergo further training before the team travels to Manchester on Saturday.
“There’s been some really good work done before. It’s going to be about introducing some of (my) own ideas, some of my own concepts on what it takes to be successful.
“But it’s not about trying to reinvent the wheel. We’ve done some great work and we’re going to try to continue that.”