McFarlane ‘gutted’ not to give fans what they deserve

The Blues’ campaign came to an end on a disappointing note, as a 2-1 defeat away at Sunderland on Sunday resulted in a 10th-place finish in the Premier League and missing out on qualification for European competition next season.

It was not the way McFarlane had hoped to sign off after guiding the team as interim head coach during the latter part of the campaign, as he looked to thank the fans for their support by finishing on a high note and giving them European football to enjoy next term.

‘We’re as disappointed as them,’ he said. ‘We're gutted that we couldn't do it for them, they've been brilliant this year.

‘They've really supported us, especially in the last couple of weeks, when we've needed to win games.

‘We felt their presence and unfortunately we've let them down. We weren't able to put the performance in that they deserve.’

However, despite the final-day disappointment, he has seen the team put in good performances in some big games during his tenure, particularly the 1-1 draw away at Liverpool and in the narrow defeat to Manchester City in last week’s FA Cup final at Wembley.

Combined with the imminent arrival of Alonso as Chelsea manager at the start of July, McFarlane believes there is enough talent and motivation at the club to put things right and do better next season.

‘I think that this group has shown when they're at their best – when we're in the right place – we're a match for anyone across Europe,’ Calum continued.

‘They've shown that this season, but that hasn't been seen enough throughout the year. That definitely hasn't been seen enough in the second part of the season.

‘But we've got some real quality players. We’ve got a new manager coming in, who's got a brilliant reputation in the game, and you still have seen flashes in the last month of what this group can do. Liverpool away, Man City in the FA Cup, they can compete with anyone. It's just doing that on a more consistent basis.

‘I've enjoyed working with this group, with the players, and they've given our staff a lot of respect over the last 31 days.

‘So I'm looking forward to working with the players and Xabi is a top coach with a great reputation. He was a top player, an elite player at the top level, so I’m really looking forward to what he brings to this club.’

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