Chelsea Under-21 head coach Callum Macfarlane was on his way to the light show in Windsor with his family when he received the news that he had been promoted to caretaker manager. They will face Manchester City without Enzo Maresca, who left the club earlier this week. McFarlane and a select group of his coaching team will be tasked with preparing the Blues for their next encounter at the Etihad Stadium.
Liam Rosenior is said to be likely to replace Maresca as Chelsea’s permanent head coach, but MacFarlane’s immediate focus is on Sunday’s trip to Manchester. This will be his first taste of senior management, having joined Chelsea’s academy from Southampton last summer after a stint in Man City’s youth organization.
The call came on New Year’s Day, when McFarlane was enjoying the day with his family. On his way to a light show in Windsor, one of the club’s sporting directors called him.
“I was actually on my way to the Windsor light show with my family,” McFarlane recalled.
“They called me and they just said, ‘When can you be here?’ I said, ‘You can be here in an hour.’ And the young lady wasn’t too happy about that.
“But when I confronted them, they basically explained what happened and said, ‘You’re going to be preparing for the game against Manchester City on Sunday. We have our full support for you, we believe in you and good luck.’
While the rest of the family attended the celebratory display, MacFarlane and a small group of staff returned to work, albeit in changed roles.
Chelsea’s caretaker manager oversaw his first training session with the first-team squad on Friday morning, but was overscheduled, resulting in the postponement of his pre-match media conference.
It was Maresca’s first training session since he was given two days of rest following Tuesday’s 2-2 draw with Bournemouth, Maresca’s final game.
To ensure players are left in the dark about Chelsea’s immediate direction, MacFarlane, his coaching team and sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Lawrence Stewart convened a meeting on Friday morning.
“So we had a meeting this morning with the sporting director and the players, just to explain the situation, introduce the staff and give them an idea of what the next few days will look like and the atmosphere,” he explained.
“It’s really unofficial, nothing major, just a quick update that most people probably already know.”
MacFarlane characterized his footballing philosophy as comparable to Maresca’s and admitted he would not try to “reinvent the wheel” even during his brief spell as caretaker manager.
“I think we’ve done some really good work so far,” he commented.
“So you’re introducing some of your own ideas and concepts about how you think you can be successful in the game. You’re not trying to reinvent the wheel, so to speak.”
