Oliver Glasner explained how Crystal Palace have sought to make the most of their unique March schedule, ahead of the Eagles' return to Premier League action away at Nottingham Forest on Saturday afternoon (15:00 GMT).
The Palace boss discussed the last three weeks' training; revealed the focus of his immediate work, and also that of his long-term planning; and his thoughts on Saturday's opponents Forest, amongst a number of other topics.
For Glasner's pre-match team news updates on Michael Olise, Daniel Muñoz, Sam Johnstone and more ahead of Saturday's game, please click here.
You know, I don't care about ‘if, if, if’ you know – I'm always concentrating on the players who are fit, because they are the guys who should win the game for us, and for the team, and for Crystal Palace. They also deserve my full attention.
But I don't know, it's not just Crystal Palace, it's not just a Crystal Palace issue. Many teams suffer from long-term injuries, from a lot of injuries. What's the reason? I think all teams are discussing it, but nobody maybe found the solution.
So it's the same what we are doing, but we have to solve it for the future. In the last, let's say, four weeks or five weeks since we are here, I think it's okay, we didn't get more injuries, and the players are coming back step by step.
Of course we are talking, you know, we have had now three weeks with no game and the international break.
We had some time to talk about it, but not in detail because, again, I think squad planning is a whole-year process, because you have the window in the winter, you have the window in the summer, and somebody can leave, you can have injuries, and whatever. It's maybe not a daily discussion, but a weekly discussion, but there were no decisions taken until now.
The big priority is to keep the big 22. For me it's important: it's the team. I think we can win many games as a team, but we cannot win a game just with one player.
Of course they are fantastic players with their individual quality, but our job is to integrate all the qualities from every player, from each player into the team, the strengths, and then to grow as a team.
So this is my way, our way, we are working.
Palace go into the game in 14th place, eight points ahead of 18th-placed Nottingham Forest.
I'm not looking at the table every day, because it's the weekend, and then it's Tuesday, it's the next game, and it's the next game. I'm concentrating on us. We had thee weeks no game, and the last 10 days several players played for their national team, and now it's to integrate them.
We have a lot to do so that we are in the right shape to win at Nottingham, and this is important, and how we play, what we want to do, and to implement it more and more into every player, into the whole team – this is what I'm concentrating on.
Then, if we perform well, we'll have enough points, and that's what I'm focused on.
It was one week maybe we could train a little bit more than we would do if we’d had a Premier League game, because the Newcastle game was postponed.
But the last two weeks, I think almost every Premier League club had the same issues: many players are not here, but the players came back healthy, and the others, they did well.
We had a very good week in Marbella with a good friendly game, 1-0 against Bodø/Glimt, so a clean sheet, always important.
Then we had a good week – we didn’t communicate it until now – with a friendly game against Millwall, and it was also a clean sheet for us. So it’s going in the right direction, and I think we did the best out of it that we could, but tomorrow is important, of course.
I think we're far away from where we want to end, because it's too short.
You can't learn another language in six weeks – it's part, but it's a process, and the best thing is that the players are so open-minded and listening and trying their best, and that's what we see in every session.
Then with parts of the session, it looks brilliant for a while, then there are parts of the session we see it's not so settled, but this is what I expected.
I think we could see it also in the first games, that the players are willing to change some parts – it's nothing totally new, but maybe a little bit more intensity; maybe a little bit more depth; maybe a little bit more attacking the space behind the back line; maybe a little bit higher press in some situations, but not always – but it's step by step and we're on a good pathway.
It's important that they are right behind me, it's important that they are right behind the team and right behind Crystal Palace, and I'm part of it. I could feel it from the first minute we arrived, very positive in the club, very positive around the club, and this helped us.
We were all disappointed in our last home game against Luton, also the fans were disappointed, but the support was great, and also they respected and rewarded the performance of the players, because they did everything to create the chances, they wanted to win the game in every second, but at the end it was a little bit unlucky and we have to accept it, so this is the feeling I have.
At the moment we are really in the present, and of course there are some discussions about next year, but we are discussing a lot and it's nothing new to make this.
It’s a way of togetherness, and it's a way to adapt, maybe little things to improve. It's a great club with a great history, and with many years now in the Premier League.
Maybe it's also to challenge us a little bit more, and this is what we try to do, and I see a lot of togetherness, this is the most important.
I'm here for five, six weeks, so I'm still learning a lot every day, and it gives me and us new impressions. Also the Chairman and the Sporting Director know me better now than six weeks before.
Again we are discussing, and then we say maybe in which parts we could improve, which parts we could change a little bit, which parts we should keep, because there are many things that are really brilliant at this club, and it's nothing to say ‘ok, turn it by 180 degrees’, not at all, it's just maybe to adapt a little bit here, adapt a little bit there, and then to improve as an organisation.
Nottingham are a team who have a lot of speed, with [Anthony] Elanga, [Callum] Hudson-Odoi, then they have [Taiwo] Awoniyi – I don't know if he is available or not, also a lot of speed – and with [Chris] Wood, a very physical player; with [Morgan] Gibbs-White, a typical number 10, fantastic football player.
Especially at home, they are a very good team, so they [only] lost in the 98th minute against Liverpool, but we prepare. I don't think too much about the opponent, because I cannot influence them, so I don't know if they are more aggressive now, because they've got four points deducted.
I don't know if they will press us high, I don't know if they will let us play, I don't know if they want to stay in possession, or they play long balls. Of course we know what they did in the previous games, to prepare us, but I always concentrate on my team, because this is what we have influence on.
I never care about your neighbour, because you have no influence, so it's good when your garden is fine, and I don't care about what's in the neighbour's garden!
I followed his career, especially when he was the manager at Wolverhampton [Wanderers], brilliant job there, and then he came to Tottenham, and yes, he is a fantastic manager, with a lot of Premier League experience for many years, and I have a lot of respect for him.
