For for the last few years, Crystal Palace fans have been concerned about a perceived lack of ambition — but there are no such fears now.
An at-times rocky season is ending superbly, with new manager Oliver Glasner proving to be a revelation and breeding a new-found optimism around Selhurst Park.
The quality of football has improved dramatically from the more risk-averse approach of Roy Hodgson, and Glasner has comfortable guided Palace to mid-table safety. He has also masterminded a victory at Anfield, demolitions of West Ham and Manchester United and helped bring the best out of stars like Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze.
Defender Joachim Andersen told Standard Sport: “In periods, this season has been stressful, but I’ve been used to that for a long time now.”
Recalling the early months of the campaign under Hodgson, he said: “I think we started quite well, but then a long period with not so good results. The last few months have been really nice. Right from the first game with the new gaffer, you could see the change. We’re playing some fantastic football and getting the results.”
Only Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea have more points than Palace in the past month, and Andersen admits it is “maybe a little surprising” quite how quickly things have clicked under Glasner.
“The style of play he wants fits the type of players we’ve got, which is really important,” added the Dane. “We have some incredible players, but we can still get much better than this.”
Several Palace players have spoken about the increased intensity of training since Glasner took over in February — and Andersen has welcomed the Austrian’s high standards. “He was something totally different from what we were used to,” he says. “We began training more, ran more, pressed higher. It’s been hard on the body. He doesn’t take any bulls**t. If you don’t work hard, he will tell you. There is no hiding.”
It is perhaps a sign of the brilliant form Palace are in that their star players are all being linked with big-money moves away.
Olise and Eze are wanted by Premier League rivals, while in the last week alone Adam Wharton has been linked with Bayern Munich and Jean-Philippe Mateta with Napoli. Bayern approached Glasner himself, but Palace are confident he is going nowhere.
Andersen and centre-back partner Marc Guehi are admired by multiple clubs, and Palace fans face a nervous wait to see how many of their stars stick around.
“I honestly don’t care about players being linked,” said Andersen. “I have been linked with several clubs, but nothing ever happened. If there’s nothing concrete, it doesn’t matter. I signed a three-year contract [until 2026], so I guess I’m still at Palace [next season]. I love it a lot here. I think the gaffer is really good and we have a good team. If we can take that into next season, of course I’m happy to stay.
“I’m an ambitious player. I want to play with the best, at the highest level. If I can do that with Palace, I’m happy to. But in football you never know, so you can’t promise anything.”
While what happens in the transfer market is hard to predict, continued success for Glasner’s front-foot side next term feels a safe bet. “I’m hoping we get up around the top seven or eight — that’s my goal,” said Andersen.
In the longer term, he shares a growing view among the Palace fanbase that European football is achievable.
“Football can go fast, look at Aston Villa,” he said. “They were almost relegated four years ago, now they’re in the Champions League. If Villa can do it, everyone can do it. I think we have a really promising future. We have a young squad, so we need someone to push us. Next season, with our best players available, this team can do some really amazing things.”
