Chelsea's New Era: McFarlane Prepares for Alonso's Arrival
Calum McFarlane walked into the media room at Cobham knowing the script. Officially, he is Chelsea’s interim head coach preparing for a season-defining derby against Tottenham. In reality, every lens, every microphone, every loaded question pointed towards a man who will not take charge until July.
Xabi Alonso has not yet set foot in the home dugout at Stamford Bridge, but his shadow already stretches across the training ground.
Chelsea confirmed on Monday morning that Alonso has agreed a four-year deal to become the club’s new permanent manager, succeeding Liam Rosenior. The announcement landed less than 48 hours after the club’s FA Cup final heartbreak against Manchester City and, just as quickly, changed the mood in west London.
From despair at Wembley to a jolt of optimism. That was the emotional swing.
McFarlane, though, still has a job to do.
Alonso buzz, derby edge
The questions came as expected. Is the squad excited about Alonso?
“Everyone is excited,” McFarlane said. “He's a great coach, won major trophies, a great playing career. He will have lots of respect from everyone. We're very excited.”
There was no attempt to play it down. Alonso’s arrival is a big deal inside the building as much as outside it. His reputation as a serial winner and a modern, tactically sharp coach has clearly landed well with a young, ambitious dressing room.
McFarlane also confirmed the pair have already been in contact. Alonso sent him a text on Sunday, largely about the FA Cup final. The interim coach kept the details to himself, but the message was clear enough: the handover has begun, even if only in the background.
Yet the here and now is anything but trivial. Tottenham come to Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night in Chelsea’s penultimate Premier League fixture of the 2025/26 season, with European qualification still in play.
“The players have showed fight and heart in the last two games,” McFarlane said. “For me, that's not an issue. Everyone knows about the rivalry but both teams also have lots to play for. Both teams are fighting for the points, so we shouldn't need to add extra motivation but it will naturally be there.”
Chelsea, bruised but not broken by their defeat at Wembley, must summon that same edge again. Lose focus, and Spurs will happily spoil the mood around the Alonso news before he has even taken a training session.
“We're very, very focused,” McFarlane stressed. “We need to win the next two games to give ourselves the best chance to finish as high in the table as possible and get European football.”
The task is simple. The margins will not be.
Colwill’s resurgence, injury caution
If there was one individual bright spot from the last week, it was Levi Colwill. Thrown back into the intensity of Anfield and an FA Cup final, the young defender responded with the kind of authority that has long had Chelsea and England coaches purring.
“It's been great to have Levi back – great for English football as well,” McFarlane said. “We have a really talented, high potential player here. To perform away at Anfield and in the FA Cup final, we're all really excited about Levi.”
Can he go again against Spurs? That remains a balancing act.
“We need to be careful with Levi,” McFarlane admitted. “He's performed well in those two games. We'll see how he looks today.”
The same note of caution applies elsewhere in the squad. Romeo Lavia took a slight knock in the build-up to the final. Nothing major, but with his recent injury history, Chelsea are not prepared to roll the dice.
“Romeo took a slight knock in the build-up to the game, nothing major,” McFarlane explained. “With Romeo, we don't want to take that risk. We need to be careful.”
Benoit Badiashile and Mamadou Sarr were left out of the matchday squad at Wembley, but that was a selection call rather than a medical bulletin.
“Benoit and Mamadou didn't make the squad – we can use them in the next two games potentially. We have a lot of players in their position.”
The group will train later in the day, with McFarlane expecting a clearer picture by then. The stakes, though, are already clear: Chelsea cannot afford to limp over the line.
A massive club, a massive appointment
If Alonso’s decision to take the job surprised some outside the club, it did not shock the man currently occupying the hot seat.
“It doesn't surprise me, we're a massive club with some of the best players in the world,” McFarlane said, asked what the appointment said about Chelsea’s pull.
“Really exciting news. Great coach with a massive pedigree. We're all really looking forward to working with Xabi.”
Alonso’s name alone carries weight in any dressing room. A Champions League winner, a leader for Spain, Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, now a coach who has quickly built a reputation for clear ideas and demanding standards.
That profile matters in the next phase of Chelsea’s rebuild. Players want to work for coaches they respect. Agents listen when a project has a figurehead with that kind of credibility. The club knows it, too.
Inside the camp, the expectation is that Alonso’s presence will sharpen minds and raise the level. Some will be playing for their futures over these final two games, even if the new manager is not yet on the touchline.
McFarlane’s own future on hold
One of the more delicate questions on the table concerned McFarlane himself. Will he be part of Alonso’s backroom staff?
“I don't know at this moment in time,” he said. No drama, no grandstanding. Just honesty.
Pressed on whether he would like to work with Alonso, he stayed firmly in the present.
“I haven't thought about that. There's so much to prepare for.”
For now, his remit is clear: steer Chelsea through Tottenham and the final league fixture, secure European football if possible, and hand over a squad that still believes in itself.
Alonso officially starts on July 1. Between now and then, Chelsea have two games to make sure he walks into a club moving upwards, not one searching for excuses.
The new era is coming. McFarlane and his players still have a say in how it begins.
