 He took over as manager of Torquay United in July 2001, but resigned in April 2002 after Torquay chairman Mike Bateson decided that if McFarland was to have an assistant he had to have a playing one, meaning McFarland's assistant David Preece had to leave as he had just retired as a player.From June 2003 to March 2007, McFarland was manager of Chesterfield and did well to keep the club in the third tier of the league, with Chesterfield's severe lack of resources, when most pundits have tipped them for relegation.He left the club after the poor set of results on 12 March 2007, leaving caretaker boss Lee Richardson to try and save the struggling Chesterfield.