Richards: We take more positives than negatives
Chris Richards feels that, despite Monday's defeat to Chelsea, Crystal Palace can draw encouragement from the nature of their latest performance.
Despite having less possession, the Eagles were the dominant team in the first-half and went into the break a Jefferson Lerma goal to the good, but strikes at either end of the second-half eventually saw the visitors emerge on top.
Nevertheless, going into a run of matches where three of their next four opponents are currently below them in the Premier League table, Richards hopes the game can prove a platform for better results to come.
“We’re disappointed with the result,” the defender admitted. “Of course, you know, when at home, one-nil up at half-time… I felt like the second-half, we came out a bit slow and then that kind of set the tone for the rest of the half.
“But I think performance-wise, it's hard to say you're happy with the performance after a loss, but I think we took more positives than negatives out of how we played.
“[Looking at the games ahead] regardless of the opponent, I think it'll kind of dictate the rest of the season for us. We know that we’ve two big opponents coming up, and two almost must-win games so, you know, we're going to really focus on what we did well and hopefully use it going forward for the rest of the season.”
On the Palace supporters, Richards said: “The fans expect us to fight, and I think maybe we showed a lack of that in Brighton. Today [against Chelsea], regardless of the result, they appreciated the fact that we went out there and fought and scrapped for 90-plus minutes.
“We just have to keep bringing that attitude, that mentality, and hopefully the results start going our way.”