Who is Calum McFarlane? Chelsea interim manager to lead club through end of season after Rosenior sacking

Chelsea are in significant trouble as the 2025/26 season comes crashing down around them right down the final stretch.

With Champions League qualification the aim, the Blues have fallen apart at the seams, and their chances of earning a place not just in Europe's top competition next season, but European football entirely are in severe jeopardy.

Five straight league defeats have left them on the outside looking in, leading club management to make a stunning change at the top, removing Liam Rosenior from his managerial post and installing Calum McFarlane for his second interim spell of the season, this time through the end of the campaign.

The Sporting News details the trajectory of McFarlane's coaching career thus far, and why Chelsea made a move now with so much still to lose through the final few games of 2025/26.

MORE: Liam Rosenior sacked by Chelsea just four months into his six-year contract

Who is Chelsea interim manager Calum McFarlane?

Calum McFarlane will lead Chelsea on an interim basis through the remainder of the 2025/26 season after manager Liam Rosenior was sacked on Wednesday, April 22.

It is the second time that McFarlane will lead the club on a caretaker basis, having spent two games in charge earlier this season following the dismissal of Enzo Maresca.

At the time of his first appointment as caretaker, McFarlane was the under-21 head coach at Chelsea. After Rosenior's hire, McFarlane was promoted to first-team coach as part of Rosenior's backroom staff.

McFarlane has only been with Chelsea since this previous summer, when he joined the club from Southampton where he spent two seasons in charge of various youth squads, first the under-18's and then the under-21's. Before that he was with Manchester City's youth academy, following a three-year stint at Norwegian club Tromso.

Earlier in his career, McFarlane also held coaching roles at Fulham and Crystal Palace.

The 40-year-old has been a lifelong football coach, having quit the dream of becoming a professional player at the youth level.

MORE: Estevao injury costs him rest of Premier League season, maybe World Cup too

How did Calum McFarlane do last time in charge of Chelsea?

Following the dismissal of Enzo Maresca, Calum McFarlane took charge of Chelsea for two games on a caretaker basis before Liam Rosenior arrived.

At that time, the Blues had won just once of their previous seven Premier League matches heading into the 2026 calendar year.

McFarlane took charge of Premier League games against Manchester City and Fulham, securing a promising 1-1 draw with title-challengers City before a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Fulham at Craven Cottage, downed by an 81st-minute Harry Wilson winner.

Why was Liam Rosenior sacked?

At the time Liam Rosenior was dismissed and Calum McFarlane appointed interim boss, Chelsea were on a dismal run of horrendous form.

The Blues had lost five straight matches in Premier League play, all without scoring a goal, the first time the Blues had been shut out in five straight top-flight defeats since 1912. Additionally, they had gone 12 straight Premier League matches without keeping a clean sheet, the first time recording such a streak since 1997.

In a statement confirming Rosenior's departure, Chelsea said that because "there is still so much to play for this season," a change had to be made now.

Sitting seventh in the Premier League table, Chelsea are still in the mix for European football next season, but only just. The top five finishers in the standings will earn a Champions League spot next year, which seems unlikely as the Blues are seven points adrift of fifth-placed Liverpool with just four matches remaining. However, sixth could become a Champions League place if Aston Villa win the Europa League title and finish inside the top five.

Chelsea are just two points behind sixth-placed Brighton, who passed the Blues with a 3-0 win over Chelsea back on Tuesday.