Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner has said that his side will be calm and relaxed ahead of their Conference League final with Rayo Vallecano, having already carried out extensive preparation. The London side, like opponents Rayo, are in their first ever European final under Glasner, in what will be his final game in charge.
The Austrian coach’s departure is already confirmed, after an enormously successful period at Selhurst Park, where he has secured a Community Shield and an FA Cup. He was keen to go out on a high.
“When you see how hard everyone worked, throughout the season, the players, the staff, the people at the club, it would mean a lot. Then it would be a fantastic ending to the season. But it’s sports, football, you never know what will happen, but it’s to be enjoyed.”
In terms of Palace’s preparation, Glasner was confident that everything was in place already.
“It will be quite relaxed. Everything we haven’t done now, anything we haven’t transported form the past week, we can’t do tomorrow. We started with the tactical meetings last week. Started showing the players videos of Vallecano when they played a back three, back four, how they with lots of possession, without lots of possession.”
“Depending on the questions [here] we’ll go to dinner. They can have a long sleep, because it’s a long day, kick-off isn’t until 21:00 local time. My favourite part is the 30 mins when they play head tennis. I watch them, and it is like kids playing. It’s so fun. It gives them a good feeling, of how the group is players, I hope that tomorrow they are laughing. not calm and introverted. Then we have the best chance if they are themselves.”
Given the number of managers from the Basque Country currently dominating football, from Unai Emery, to Mikel Arteta, to Andoni Iraola, and with Inigo Perez from neighbouring Pamplona, Glasner was asked what he thought about the phenomenon.
“I will go there this summer to find out, to see what they are eating. It must be something good. They are clearfly doing something good, also the clubs, are playing international football, Athletic Club, Real Sociedad do. But perhaps Yeremy [Pino] knows better, he is Spanish.”
Over recent days, there have been doubts about the fitness of two key Palace players in Adam Wharton and Chris Richards, but both trained as normal on Tuesday morning. It seems they will play some role, but Glasner left it in the air as to whether they would start.
“The good thing is that they were available today. They have 36 hours between training and the game. The medical department are working hard, they will work until late and again in the morning. In the end, I will only select players I believe to be 100% fit. I will ta0lk tomorrow morning with them. If I have concern, I will choose someone else in the XI, but it’s positive they could play training without big issues. Everyone has some pain at this stage of the season.”
At one stage earlier in the season, Glasner looked as if he could leave during the campaign. He explained that it was natural for there to be some conflict of opinions, and that it was something he sought out in his players.
“Never think about it, positive thinking. When you play such a long season with so many games, there are challenging moments. There were some moments in December and January that were tough. But we said we needed to do a few things in January, as the club did. To stay in the league, then focus on Conference League.”
“I think honestly, there was more noise around the club, than within. The players are the most important part, and we have a close relationship with the players. We had some discussions, but it was completely normal. From both sides, if you just agree, you don’t get the best out anyone. If a player is just saying yes, yes, yes, then we’ll always have flowers at the training ground, but we’ll never win anything. I like players raising issues, telling me you have to change it. Then I think about it, and I change, this is how development happens. We are in the next final, second final with Crystal Palace. i think it is quite OK.”
Goalkeeper Dean Henderson added with a smile that he would never cross the Palace manager, but the overall tone of the London side was relaxed, of a side that was comfortable with their preparation. Having been assured of their place in the Premier League for some time, Palace have indeed managed to focus on Europe and rest players.
