{"id":2999,"date":"2026-05-01T22:41:42","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T22:41:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=2999"},"modified":"2026-05-01T22:41:42","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T22:41:42","slug":"calum-mcfarlane-struggling-with-difficult-chelsea-managers-job-just-one-week-after-taking-over","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=2999","title":{"rendered":"Calum McFarlane struggling with &#8216;difficult&#8217; Chelsea manager&#8217;s job just one week after taking over"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"post-366025\">\n<div class=\"article-follow\">\n<div class=\"article-sharing google-follow\">  <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"28\" height=\"28\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thechelseachronicle.com\/wp-content\/themes\/grv-media\/img\/google-discover.svg\" alt=\"\"\/> <span>Add as preferred source on Google<\/span>  <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>Calum McFarlane is set to be in charge of Chelsea for the rest of the 2025\/26 season, although he is already struggling with the extra exposure being in the hotseat brings.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>McFarlane has been handed the job after the sacking of Liam Rosenior just three months after taking over, returning to the role he temporarily held after Enzo Maresca\u2019s departure.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-grvmedia-grv-video GRVMultiVideo\"\/>\n<p>The interim boss has the respect of the Chelsea squad, and oversaw a 1-0 win at Wembley in the FA Cup semi-final to get his short reign off to the best possible start.<\/p>\n<section class=\"grv-talking-point\" data-trigger=\"vue-sidebar\" data-story-id=\"72ce44da-498e-4181-92cd-b035246aa62a\" data-story-name=\"Chelsea vs Nottingham Forest\" data-comment-id=\"464809bc-add0-435b-9f0e-aea862c1dc77\" data-story-slug=\"chelsea-vs-nottingham-forest\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__inner\">\n<header class=\"grv-talking-point__header\">  <\/header>\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__content\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__cta\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__title-wrap\">\n<p><h3 class=\"grv-talking-point__title\">Would you make any changes to our XI to face Forest?<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__embed\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"819\" height=\"1024\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 991px) 100vw, 800px\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/05\/Predicted-XI-1-819x1024.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-366014\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/05\/Predicted-XI-1-819x1024.png 819w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/05\/Predicted-XI-1-240x300.png 240w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/05\/Predicted-XI-1-768x960.png 768w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/05\/Predicted-XI-1-912x1140.png 912w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/05\/Predicted-XI-1-600x750.png 600w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/05\/Predicted-XI-1.png 1080w\"\/><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Tosin deserves another chance after the FA Cup\u2026<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-calum-mcfarlane-struggling-with-pressures-of-being-chelsea-manager\">Calum McFarlane struggling with pressures of being Chelsea manager<\/h2>\n<p>However, he will have quickly become aware of the added pressures that come with the head coach role. Press conferences, post match interviews, and scrutiny over every decision he makes are part and parcel of the job.<\/p>\n<p>BBC Sport have stated that people close to McFarlane have stated that he has found aspects of taking the step up to head coach \u2018difficult\u2019.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-getty-images-media\">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 991px) 100vw, 800px\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/05\/GettyImages-2273225515-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Chelsea v Leeds United - Emirates FA Cup Semi Final\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/05\/GettyImages-2273225515-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/05\/GettyImages-2273225515-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/05\/GettyImages-2273225515-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/05\/GettyImages-2273225515-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/05\/GettyImages-2273225515-1140x760.jpg 1140w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/05\/GettyImages-2273225515-750x500.jpg 750w\"\/><\/div><figcaption title=\"LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 26: Caretaker manager Calum McFarlane of Chelsea during the Emirates FA Cup Semi Final match between Chelsea and Leeds United  on April 26, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Robin Jones\/Getty Images)\">Photo by Robin Jones\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The report goes on to say that it has not helped that this decision has come at a time where Chelsea fans have made their outraged feelings known in recent weeks.<\/p>\n<p>Blues supporters protested in their hundreds ahead of the recent Premier League game against Manchester United, clearly losing all faith in BlueCo and their decision making.<\/p>\n<p>This has included in the managerial department. The hiring of Rosenior was seen as a strange move, and one purely made because of his time in charge of Strasbourg.<\/p>\n<section class=\"grv-talking-point\" data-trigger=\"vue-sidebar\" data-story-id=\"74909401-8595-4074-9a62-89a4ab9cee30\" data-story-name=\"New Chelsea Manager\" data-comment-id=\"14ecd974-0667-448a-b3e5-89589182fbb5\" data-story-slug=\"new-chelsea-manager\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__inner\">\n<header class=\"grv-talking-point__header\">  <\/header>\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__content\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__cta\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__title-wrap\">\n<p><h3 class=\"grv-talking-point__title\">Out of the managers we have been linked with, which one do you think might be able to get the very best out of Cole Palmer again?\ud83d\udc40<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__embed\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"691\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 991px) 100vw, 800px\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2273431542-1024x691.jpg\" alt=\"Chelsea v Leeds United - Emirates FA Cup Semi Final\" class=\"wp-image-365545\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2273431542-1024x691.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2273431542-300x202.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2273431542-768x518.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2273431542-1536x1036.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2273431542-1140x769.jpg 1140w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2273431542-750x506.jpg 750w\"\/><\/div><figcaption title=\"LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 26:  Cole Palmer of Chelsea after the Emirates FA Cup Semi Final match between Chelsea and Leeds United  on April 26, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Visionhaus\/Getty Images)\">Photo by Visionhaus\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-candidates-emerging-for-chelsea-job\">Candidates emerging for Chelsea job<\/h2>\n<p>The areas of the job the interim is not enjoying make him an unlikely candidate for the job on a permanent basis, no matter how he ends the season.<\/p>\n<p>Xabi Alonso has emerged as one of the main candidates for the job, with former club Liverpool looking as if they are going to stick with Arne Slot for now.<\/p>\n<p>There was a reported desire from the decision makers to bring in a manager who has Premier League experience under his belt.<\/p>\n<p>This could point them in the direction of Andoni Iraola, Eddie Howe or Marco Silva as their favoured candidate, with a decision not set to be made before the end of the season.<\/p>\n<div class=\"see-more-wrapper lazy see-more-open see-more-blank extra-content\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.thechelseachronicle.com\/news\/calum-mcfarlane-struggling-with-difficult-chelsea-managers-job-just-one-week-after-taking-over\/none\" data-type=\"subscribe\">\n<div class=\"see-more subscribe\">\n<figure class=\"newsletter\">\n<div><svg class=\"loading\" width=\"118\" height=\"36\" viewbox=\"0 0 118 36\"><use href=\"#dots-svg\"\/><\/svg><\/p>\n<div class=\"signup\"><span class=\"hf\">Join Our Newsletter<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Receive a digest of our best Chelsea content each week direct to your mailbox<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><script>grvLoadAnalytics = () => {(function(d,s,i){var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)(0),j=d.createElement(s);j.async=true;j.src=\"https:\/\/www.googletagmanager.com\/gtag\/js?id=\"+i;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(document,'script','G-E7VRWQHDP6');(function(d,s,i){if(!\/callback=in\/.test(window.location.search)){var e=d.createElement(s);var n=d.getElementsByTagName(s)(0);e.type=\"text\/javascript\";e.async=true;e.src=\"https:\/\/static.chartbeat.com\/js\/chartbeat.js\";n.parentNode.insertBefore(e,n);}})(document,\"script\",\"G-E7VRWQHDP6\");(function(){let s=document.createElement(\"script\");s.async=true;s.dataset.domain=\"thechelseachronicle.com\/MFj4XQ\";s.src=\"https:\/\/api.publytics.net\/js\/script.manual.ping.min.js\";document.getElementsByTagName(\"head\")(0).appendChild(s);})();if(!\/callback=in\/.test(window.location.search)){setTimeout(function(){!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';n.queue=();t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)(0);s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,document,'script','https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');fbq('init','663509325503632');fbq('track','PageView');fbq('track','ViewContent',{content_name:'Calum McFarlane struggling with &#8216;difficult&#8217; Chelsea manager&#8217;s job just one week after taking over',content_category:'News',content_ids:(366025,\"calum-mcfarlane\"),content_type:'post',});},3000);}}<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Add as preferred source on Google Calum McFarlane is set to be in charge of&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3000,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2999","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chelsea"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2999","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2999"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2999\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3000"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}