McFarlane responds to Xabi Alonso being linked with Chelsea job – and provides updates on several stars | OneFootball

Chelsea interim manager Calum McFarlane says it is “not really” his place to comment on who should get the Chelsea manager job, after being asked about Xabi Alonso.

Alonso has been heavily linked in recent days and it seems he is one of the frontrunners for the job, alongside Marco Silva and Andoni Iraola.

Asked about Alonso, McFarlane said: “There’s a lot of names linked with the job. It’s not really my place to say who should get it, or who’s a good manager, who’s not a good manager. My job is to prepare the team for Saturday and that’s all I’ll be focusing on.”

Chelsea take on Manchester City in the FA Cup final this weekend, and have the opportunity to win silverware in what has been a very disappointing season.

And McFarlane had some very positive team news ahead of the game: “Reece James trained well this week, happy with him. Good he got some minutes, and I thought he did well when he came on as well. Largely happy with Reece. We are hopeful he can finish the season in this form.

“It’s a similar story with Levi Colwill; he had a really good rehab. A really good training week, and we’re really hopeful.

Pedro Neto and Alejandro Garnacho are also expected to be available having trained this week.

“Pedro Neto and Ale Garnacho have trained well this week, so looking really good, really hopeful with them as well. So, yeah, positive signs,” McFarlane said.

If Chelsea are to win on Saturday, it is likely they will need a big performance from star player Cole Palmer.

Palmer has had a difficult 12 months with injuries and poor form, but McFarlane backed him to show his best: “I think he’s had some really good games for us this year. He’s had a lot of injuries that he’s had to deal with. I was really pleased with Cole on Saturday.

“I thought he had moments where he showed his level and his quality. So really hopeful that Cole can produce that from now to the end of the season. He’s a top player, and he’s proved that many times.”