McFarlane on team news, normal preparations & 'belief' for FA Cup final
Chelsea interim boss Calum McFarlane has been speaking to the media before Saturday's FA Cup final against Manchester City at Wembley (kick-off 15:00 BST). Here are the key lines from his news conference: McFarlane confirmed captain Reece James and Levi Colwill have trained well this week and are available for the final. The Blues boss is also hopeful Pedro Neto, Alejandro Garnacho and Robert Sanchez can also be in contention.
He said their recent league form "has been way below the standard" expected, but the final of this "prestigious" competition is an opportunity to add more silverware to the club's cabinet, adding: "We want to win it. " In response to Xabi Alonso being linked with the full-time job: "There are a lot of names linked with the job but it's not my place to say who should get it. " On how he will feel managing Chelsea at a final at Wembley: "I'll feel all the emotions, I'd imagine.
I can't tell you how I'll feel on the day. " McFarlane said he hasn't managed in a game "of this magnitude" before, but they are preparing in the same way as if it was any other match. He added: "We'll make it as normal as possible, but it's a massive game and you can't hide away from it because we all want to win the game.
" On opponents Manchester City playing midweek: "It's tough when you have a game midweek and have a triple gameweek. We've had a lot of them this year but we are concentrating on ourselves. We need to be at our best.
" He said City "are going to be a challenge," but his team "have the belief they can beat anyone if they are at their best. " On whether there's any pressure to win: "When you're at a club like this, there's always pressure. There's pressure to win every game but this game as well - we have to accept it and embrace that.