22/05/2026
๐จBREAKING! Full Calum McFarlane pre- Sunderland press conference:
Joao Pedro and Colwill:
"They both trained today. Both promising and we're hopeful they'll be fit for Sunday. No other updates."
James fit?:
"Reece has trained today. We'll play it day by day with Reece. He's fit and in good condition but we know we need to manage him carefully. He played a lot of minutes in the final - and that will take it out of you."
Players not being called up to World Cup squads:
"In terms of Cole and the England announcement, that was made at 10am - we haven't had time to speak or get a feel for the group. Training was really good. I'm sure we'll have those conversations in the coming days and see how they are."
Spurs performance;
"We knew it would be a challenge physically and mentally. We pushed as hard as we could. We were good value for the 1-0 lead. We got the second goal and didn't have much more push. That's not how we want the game to look but two or three days after the final, you could see the affects from that game."
Stamford Bridge atmosphere:
"Stamford Bridge was brilliant - it's probably the best atmosphere I've seen since being in the first team. It comes from us when we start games right. We didn't do that in the Forest game. It helps so much for us."
Sunderland trip:
"It's going to be a great game - both teams need to win. We need one more push, three points and hopefully get ourselves up the table."
His experience as interim:
"Great learning and experience. It's a massive challenge. Really thankful to the club for the opportunity and really thankful for the players."
Palmer not in England squad:
"I don't want to comment on that - it's not got anything to do with me. The England manager has made a decision so it's best to speak to him. We have full belief in Cole and we will be relying on him on Sunday."
Palmer setback;
"I think in life and in football, you need to take every setback as a positive. There's going to be lots of them - moments l
