Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner has thrown his immediate future into doubt after the club’s fans turned against him amid the club’s disastrous run of results.
Manager Glasner will be leaving Palace at the end of the season when his contract expires, but it is unclear whether he will leave after his latest comments.
Palace supporters called for Glasner’s sacking during Thursday night’s 1-1 draw with Zrinjski Mostar in the first leg of the Conference League knock-off play-off. The team has only won once in its past 15 games.
“We’ll see. We never know what’s going to happen in the future,” Glasner said Friday when asked if he wanted to stay until the end of the season.
Asked if he had the will to see his end of the deal, Glasner added, “Yeah, I think so.”
Palace had never won a major trophy until Glasner guided them to FA Cup glory last season, before his team won the Community Shield.
However, the Austrian currently does not feel he is the right man for the job after Palace sold captain Marc Göch in January and star player Eberechi Eze last summer.
Marc Guehi left Palace to join Manchester City in January.
“This is not the best of times. I understand everything and take responsibility because I am responsible for the entire team,” Glassner said.
“I’m not good enough to replace the players I sold. I’m not good enough to integrate new players so they can play as well as they’ve been. I’m not good enough to cope with the schedule.”
“On the other hand, I think I played my best season ever and did enough to win two trophies.
“We still look like we’re playing a better Premier League season than Crystal Palace have played in eight of the last 10 seasons, even at a time when everyone is completely angry, disappointed and frustrated.
“We are playing European football and that is a reality.”
Glassner says it’s his responsibility to fix Crystal Palace’s problems
Glassner: It’s my responsibility to turn things around.
Palace face Wolverhampton Wanderers in their next game on Super Sunday, and Glasner will be looking to rally his team to overcome their slump.
Glasner added: “It’s my responsibility to make the turnaround. If I don’t do it, I can’t expect (aggressiveness) from my players. But I can’t do that right now because that’s how I feel.”
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“This shows that the expectations are completely different. So if we had 32 points after 26 rounds, I think the fans would have celebrated in the last nine seasons. This year, they are disappointed.”
“If I were to be the funny guy now, I think you would feel that it’s not true. That’s why I am the way I am. And this is how I feel right now. This is a very difficult situation for all of us.
“But on the other hand, again, this season is one of the best Premier League seasons of the last 10 years. This just shows that the expectations are completely different.”
“In the last nine seasons, if we had 32 points after 26 matches, the fans would have celebrated. This year we are disappointed.”
Palace’s season soars as Glasner limps towards the end of his term
James Savandra on Sky Sports News:
There is sadness in how everything unravels so quickly. The glorious days at Wembley seem like a distant memory.
There were tired bodies and minds at Crystal Palace’s training base on Friday morning. His return from Bosnia and Herzegovina was delayed and he showed quick response for the home match against Wolves.
Had it been the first knockout tie in an official European tournament, there would have been a celebratory mood in normal times. However, the mood among his supporters was gloomy.
That’s the atmosphere the head coach spoke about during Friday morning’s press conference. Apart from a recent victory over rivals Brighton – their only win in their last 15 games – the last few months have been miserable.
Glasner’s immediate future at Crystal Palace is in doubt
Glassner looked lethargic and did little to dispel doubts about whether he would actually make it through the season.
Admitting he wasn’t competent enough to deal with player departures, consolidate contracts and manage a team amidst a grueling schedule, he appeared to have given up.
Yet he was still keen to remind us of his success in south London. He did well enough to win two trophies. He said 32 points at this stage of the Premier League season was a better result than Palace were used to.
He’s right. Glasner will undoubtedly go down as the greatest manager in club history. But his legacy is being tarnished week by week by his on-field performances and on-field comments.
The season that gave them the opportunity to create historic scenes at Wembley Stadium last summer has spiraled out of control. It feels like we’re finally nearing the end.
