Oliver Glasner exclusive: Crystal Palace boss wants to take Premier League club 'a step further', paint 'one Mona Lisa'
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ByEurosport
Updated 06/04/2024 at 08:12 GMT
Speaking exclusively to TNT Sports ahead of Crystal Palace's Premier League match against Manchester City on Saturday, the south London club's head coach Oliver Glasner says he wants to deliver improved Premier League finishes in the table during his time at the club. Glasner also says he wants to get his team to play at a higher intensity than they currently are, but admits it will take time.
Oliver Glasner of Crystal Palace during the Premier League match between AFC Bournemouth and Crystal Palace
Image credit: Getty Images
Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner says he wants his side to paint "one Mona Lisa” for the time he is in charge at the Premier League club.
Glasner took over as Palace boss in February, signing a contract until the end of the 2025-26 season, replacing Roy Hodgson.
During his brief time in south London so far, the 49-year-old German has led the team to one victory, two draws and two losses with Palace sitting in 14th in the Premier League table on 30 points and eight points above the relegation zone.
Since Palace’s promotion to the Premier League in the 2013-14 season, Palace’s highest ever league position is 10th – achieved in the 14-15 season – and their lowest 15th which came only a season later.
Glasner says the club have to be united in their pursuit of finishing higher up the Premier League table.
"My ambitions are not important if the club or the players have different ambitions,” he told TNT Sports, ahead of Palace's Saturday lunchtime kick-off against Manchester City, live on TNT Sports and discovery+.
“We have to go the same pathway. We have to paint the same picture then it can be one Mona Lisa. But if everyone paints what he wants then it's maybe not such a nice picture.
"It's not important regarding the club's ambitions, it's about the feeling in talks of both sides with the chairman and sporting director. That we have the same ambition with Crystal Palace.
"Palace have done really excellently in the past 10 years and always staying in the Premier League between 10th-15th.
"Now it is to say maybe we take a step further. It doesn't have to be seventh or eighth but also to maybe get a bit more confidence. When you are 12th you can say it's a very good season but also to say 'ah okay, maybe it can be a little bit more'.
"I don't know how we end this season, but if we end in the same position next year we are happy with it? No. There's things we can change to make one step further and then not to say 'ah everything is good'.
"Always respect and accept the present, but always try to implement and improve new things for the future."
Glasner, who won the UEFA Europa League with Eintracht Frankfurt in the 2021-22 season, says joining Palace in mid-season has made it trickier to implement his ideas.
However, he says his players have shown themselves to have “excellent character” and wants his team to play at a higher intensity than they currently do.
"It's really doing it step by step,” he said. “The most important thing is the willingness of the players and the character of the players. As we can see there's excellent character of the players.
"We want to change little things and not everything is new. We have to increase our intensity in training, increase our intensity in games.
"We are 19th in the Premier League regarding this data so there is a lot to do. We've already started, but you can't do it as you want during a season because the next game is always the most important.
"We had an international break where not many players were here and we then have three games in a row. It's a process but it's the basics.
"If you can play at this intensity you don't have to talk about pressure and directness to the goal because you need to sprint and do a lot of runs in and out of possession. This is what we are starting with and are implementing the ideas."
How to watch Crystal Palace v Manchester City?
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