Portugal Colonial - Chelsea can still save season despite slump: McFarlane

The Stamford Bridge club take on Leeds in an FA Cup semi-final on Sunday, desperate to salvage some pride following five straight Premier League defeats without a single goal scored.

A 3-0 hammering by Brighton on Tuesday was the final straw for club bosses, who ended Rosenior's unhappy reign after just 106 days.

First-team coach McFarlane, who also led Chelsea briefly following the departure of Enzo Maresca in January, spoke to reporters on Friday for the first time since Rosenior's departure.

Minutes before he appeared, Chelsea's home page had a picture of the former boss with a message that read "Watch Liam Rosenior's press conference live!" before it was updated.

McFarlane, a former under-21s coach at Chelsea, was grilled on what had gone wrong at the club, where a rift had reportedly opened up between Rosenior and his players.

He was asked whether it was a "fair assumption" that the players were not playing for the management and quizzed on how he would address the issue.

"Who's to say? It's not anything I would comment on," he said, adding that there had been no clear-the-air meeting.

But the Englishman said despite seven defeats in eight matches, he was confident Chelsea could save their season.

"I know it's been tough recently, but we've had some good games this year, good performances against top sides in recent history," he said.

"So there's a lot of talent. Some of those players in there are some of the best players in the world for their position. So there's still a belief within us. We can turn this around and get our season back on track."

McFarlane said Brazilian winger Estevao would be out for the rest of the English season and that he was unsure whether he would be fit for the World Cup, which starts in June.

"Estevao, unfortunately, won't play for us this season," he said. "He's going to be out for a little bit of time.

"So, that's really unfortunate, especially for someone so young and so talented, but we're here to support him and be around him."

X.M.Francisco--PC