An action-packed week at Crystal Palace has seen a managerial shake-up and two games in the space of five days, as things have been moving at the speed of knots in SE25.
Roy Hodgson stepped down from his role as Palace boss on Monday afternoon, with Oliver Glasner, the former Eintracht Frankfurt boss, confirmed as his successor just a matter of hours later.
That evening, Palace faced Everton at Goodison Park, with the points being shared in an encouraging Crystal Palace performance.
Glasner takes over a side that has just two wins in their last fourteen league matches and sits just five points clear of the relegation zone.
The pressure to stay in the division is high in South London, with Glasner being thrown in at the deep end, taking charge of a huge relegation six-pointer that could have massive repercussions for the final twelve games of the season.
Win and Palace can start to look up the table and be more ambitious about the closing of the season. Lose, and the Eagles will be looking nervously over their shoulders. It's a crucial clash at the bottom of the table, but the new Eagles boss was upbeat about the challenge at hand.
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Oozing Confidence
Glasner, a strong, outspoken character, spoke with a positive and bold tone about the challenge facing him and his Palace squad, emphasising the qualities that the club possesses.
The Austrian coach expressed his faith in his squad, going so far as to suggest that if he believed relegation was a threat, he wouldn't have taken the role.
"We have great characters, and we have everything in the squad we need to win Premier League games. The team showed it already, especially at home.
"I'm convinced (of the quality), otherwise, I wouldn't sit here. If I would be afraid that we get relegated, I wouldn't be here. I'm really convinced of the quality of the players. I'm really convinced of the quality of Crystal Palace. I'm really convinced of the support of our fans."
The Europa League-winning coach emphasised that he was not overly fussed with the team's current league position; growth and improvement were his leading priorities.
"I'm also not looking every week, the table changes. But now it's important what we are doing on the pitch, that we show some slight improvements every game, and then I'm sure we'll have enough points at the end of the season."
Glasner made no secret of his eagerness to get into the dugout.
"I'm really looking forward to the game tomorrow."
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'Glas' half full
Glasner explained his approach to the rest of the campaign with a really ambitious approach as to how he wants to attack the remainder of this season's fixtures.
"This season we want to end, of course, with as many points as possible, and the best is starting with three tomorrow against Burnley."
He then added his ambitions for the project as a whole without giving too much away. Palace are clearly in a good position to progress, with sales expected to fund an exciting summer transfer window.
A summer rebuild should allow for a seamless integration of his footballing philosophy, but the club's primary priority, as expected, is the here and now.
"We will see what happens in summer, but I'm always a guy who lives in the present, for sure not in the past, and also not too far in the future, because you can see I didn't plan this, and now I'm here and talking to you! So I really have a lot to do with the present time, with the squad and to prepare the team to win games.
"Of course, we’ve talked about what our vision is. And we saw that we have the same goals for Crystal Palace, the same vision. But we can talk a lot – that's not important now. Now it's important that we work together to reach this vision, to reach these goals.
"And the owners, the Chairman, the Sporting Director, they gave me big confidence that we all go the same way and that we are able to reach this vision."
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London Calling
London called to the faraway towns, and it was answered with an emphatic yes as Oliver Glasner was appointed Palace manager. The new boss in SE25 shared his excitement over his new project.
“The Premier League is maybe the biggest league in the world with the best players, the best managers, and the best surroundings, so I’m pretty happy to be in this league.
"Especially in football, but also sometimes in life, things happen that you don't plan, and it wasn't planned like this. But, yeah, when we talked about starting earlier, I said, 'yes, of course, I watched many games from Crystal Palace', and the decision came really fast to say: “OK, it's a good opportunity.”
Glasner praised his players, who impressed in his first three days of training, and now it's just a matter of getting on the pitch and showing the progress they've made when they face Burnley.
“They’ve made it really easy to start. The players are listening and have great characters, and we’ve started with our impact softly – more meetings than training sessions on the pitch [so far] – but it was a start.
"We all did it well together, but, of course, what’s important is the game tomorrow against Burnley. A home game, at Selhurst Park – we want to keep the three points at Selhurst.
"Every game in the Premier League is difficult, so I think we are well prepared. We know what we want to do, but now it's up to us to show it on the pitch.
"We will be ready tomorrow to fight for the win at home at Selhurst Park."
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Could it be magic?
The question on all supporters' lips is whether or not a change in shape and style of play will happen in the immediate future. Glasner is known for playing back three, with an extreme focus on attack and scoring goals but based on a solid foundation.
When attacking, Glasner coaches his sides to play fast football to try and get the ball in the back of the net as quickly as possible. But with the absence of attacking quality in the Palace squad and the likes of Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze unavailable, is an instant change unrealistic?
"I'm no magician, I'm not David Copperfield!
"So I don't expect that there will be something totally different tomorrow because it's not possible
"But I feel, and this I saw at Goodison Park, we have a great team with great character, fighting for each other, fighting for our win."
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Injury returns imminent?
Glasner provided an update on the fitness of the Palace squad he has inherited from Roy Hodgson. Palace have had an extreme struggle with injuries this season, with Marc Guehi, Eberechi Eze, Will Hughes, and Michael Olise all sidelined.
"Tomorrow will be the same squad as at Everton, so nobody is coming back, but also nobody (new) is out.
"But Eberechi Eze has had the last two training sessions with us, and looks good, so he will be with us the whole of next week and when he feels ready he’ll be in the squad (against Tottenham).
"Will Hughes I also hope and think will be with us next week, and Marc and Michael we will see, but there was some good news (this week), especially Eberechi training with us.”
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Passion to shine through?
Glasner is a manager known for his pure devotion to the cause. A clever tactician but, more importantly, a strong character who will live and breathe the project.
In a sense, character-wise, Glasner is very similar to that of Patrick Vieira; he'll demand that his players put their heart and soul into the football club, ensuring buy-in from not only the players but the supporters too.
"I try to be cool, but I don't know what my emotions are. I try to be calm, but sometimes I'm not calm. I don't know what we will see tomorrow, but everything you will see, this is Oliver Glasner.
"If you feel the emotion, I want to show it. This is one of the reasons that I love to be a manager, to feel these emotions, to celebrate together with the players, with the staff, with the fans.
"I always tell the players, maybe you can buy a car, you can buy a flat, but you never can buy these emotions. You have to feel it, and therefore you have to be successful. It's worth working very hard to get this back.
"I hope we don't need a game-winner at the end, it’s maybe earlier, but if it is, it could be that I have a sprint!"
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Praise for the faithful
Finally, Glasner shared how impressed he was with the Palace support at Everton on Monday night and that he has no doubts everyone will be behind him and his team as a new era begins at Selhurst Park on Saturday.
"For me, this is like I am as a human, not just as a manager. Maybe when you have bad times, you need support, especially in those times, and I'm sure that our fans will support the team immediately in the next game.
"I was really impressed by our fans at Goodison Park. It was Monday, 8 o'clock in the evening. It's not just around the corner – it's really a long journey, and the stand was full and they supported the team.
"They celebrated together with the team after the goal, so I'm really convinced that they will be supporting us until the end of the season."