Oliver Glasner, the new manager of Crystal Palace, says he hasn’t had enough time to put a new tactical strategy into effect for his first game in charge, but he is certain that his “positive” outlook will help Palace avoid relegation.
Before the team’s journey to Burnley on Saturday, Glasner, who was appointed on Tuesday, has only spent three full days with them.
Ray Lewington and Paddy McCarthy co-managed the Eagles in their 1-1 draw with Everton at Goodison Park on Monday night, following Roy Hodgson’s resignation as manager.
During his first news conference on Friday, Glasner stated, “I’m happy to be part of Crystal Palace.”
“Of course, with the greatest players, managers, and environments, the Premier League may be the biggest league in the world. I’m not too upset about being in this league.
“I’ve watched many games of Crystal Palace,” Glasner said in response to the question of whether his presence will have an instant influence on Palace. We have time to practise because the national team break is coming up, but I’m neither a magician or David Copperfield.
“You need assistance, especially during difficult times. The supporters of our team at Goodison Park truly amazed me. Although every game is unique, we’ll be prepared to compete at Selhurst Park tomorrow in hopes of winning.
“Our team has everything we need to win Premier League games, including excellent characters. If I were worried that we might be demoted, I wouldn’t be sitting here right now. There wouldn’t be me here.
After leading Eintracht Frankfurt to victory in the Europa League in 2022, the Austrian continued, saying, “I don’t expect there will be something totally different tomorrow, because it’s not possible.” Our plans are necessary. Perhaps I could sense that our players aren’t exactly the most confident right now. But we can win this game if we all work together.
“I’m a guy that has a good outlook on life. It’s five or six points to eleventh place, and we have five points [above] the relegation zone. Thus, it is not too far. By the end of the season, we should have enough points if we make small progress in each game.
About Palace’s approach to transfers, Glasner stated: “We’ll see what transpires.” Steve Parish, the chairman, and I have discussed the idea. We discovered our goals are similar. But there’s a lot more to say. It matters that we collaborate in order to realise our vision. I have a lot of faith that everything will work out as planned because of the owners, chairman, and sporting director.
There was hope that Marc Guehi and Eberechi Eze would recover from their injuries in time for Saturday’s pivotal game against Burnley. Glasner stated that while both would miss the game, their returns are getting closer.
“Not until tomorrow,” he said. “Tomorrow’s roster will be the same as it was at Everton, so no one is out nor returning.” The previous two training sessions were with Eberechi Eze. He will be with us for the entire upcoming week, and ideally he will be in the Tottenham team.
“I believe and hope that Will Hughes will join us the following week. We’ll see about Marc (Guehi) and Michael (Olise).
