Jack Butland says Crystal Palace have "no ceiling" as they look to end their season on a high by beating Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley on Sunday.
The Eagles have come through four rounds to reach the semis, comprehensively beating Everton 4-0 at Selhurst Park in the quarter-finals to book just their fifth-ever last-four appearance in the competition. Butland has started each FA Cup game and kept two clean sheets on the road to Wembley, repaying the faith shown in him by manager Patrick Vieira to perform.
The Frenchman has been an instant hit in south London since his arrival last summer and has helped completely reinvigorate the club following the departure of Roy Hodgson at the end of last season. As well as being one step away from an FA Cup final in his debut season, Vieira is also pushing to become just the second Palace manager in the last decade to finish in the top half of the Premier League.
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"It’s important we continue to push," Butland tells the FA’s match programme for Sunday. "We’re not the finished article, we’re not a group that’s done yet. He [Vieira] is keen to make sure we don’t forget that. He keeps us grounded, he keeps us humble, he keeps pushing us, that’s for sure. It’s been a very enjoyable year, one we’re not dwelling on. We want to achieve more. We’ve got goals from much bigger things. We want to go and win the semi-final, keep pushing in the league and go as far as we can. We’ve got no ceiling at the minute."
Palace’s journey in the FA Cup started with a tricky south London derby against Championship outfit Millwall at The Den. A lively atmosphere combined with a slow start from the Eagles saw them go a goal down, with Butland guilty of losing possession in his own box that allowed the Lions to take full advantage. Luckily, an inspired second-half performance from Michael Olise turned the game on its head, and Palace progressed into the fourth round where they overcame League Two’s Hartlepool United at Selhurst Park. An emotional win over Butland’s former side Stoke City followed in the fifth round before Palace saved their best result for the quarter-final when they blew away Frank Lampard’s Everton by four goals at home again.
Assessing the club’s journey to reach the semis, Butland said: "The Millwall game turned out to be a great one. It was a hell of an atmosphere on the day – obviously, it’s been a long time since Palace and Millwall met in a competitive fixture. It was an incredible occasion. We took an incredible following as we do everywhere we go, and you combine that with the Millwall fans and it was a hell of an atmosphere. The first half didn’t go particularly to plan, we didn’t play particularly well.
"Michael Olise, the way he turned it on in that second half and kind of singlehandedly got us back in the tie – it turned out to be a very enjoyable day. One that didn’t start too well but started a great run for us. I was pleased to be able to offer a little bit more of an assured performance in the game after that.
"I was excited [to face Stoke]. I was looking forward to playing them… [it is] a club I spent so long at and share so many fond memories with, difficult times and a club I have a lot of love for. I wanted to put in a good performance and ultimately knock them out of the cup. In the end, we got it done. It took a while – they put up a great defence and we managed to get a winner late on. But it was the first time I’ve faced Stoke since leaving and it obviously ended up well for us in the end.
"You get to this stage of a competition where it’s littered with the big guns that have got through. We’ve got Chelsea in the semi-final at Wembley, which is an incredible occasion for us personally as players but as a club as well. It’s going to be a hell of a day out. For me to come off the back of some great performances and really enjoyable games for the club, both in the league and in the cup, it comes at a great time. I’m really excited for what Sunday brings."
And with more than 30,000 Palace fans filling out the national stadium for the semi-final, Butland says he can’t wait to see what kind of atmosphere the famous red and blue army manage to cook up for the match.
"It’s a hell of a stadium which I know is going to be rocking," he added. "I think for us we’re going to sell out a portion of Wembley that supersedes Selhurst Park, so we’re going to take an incredible following with us. I’m really excited to see that, to hear that. I know it’s going to be special – when the Palace fans travel they do it properly.
"The first real taste of it for me was beating Tottenham at home 3-0 before Christmas, and it was as loud a stadium and atmosphere and sound and noise that I’ve ever heard at a football stadium. So I know what they’re capable of doing. We see it regularly and they give us that extra boost we need. A lot of the time it doesn’t take a goal to get them going; they do that on their own. When you’ve got a fanbase like that it’s difficult not to get up for it."
