The former club captain, and current U21s Head Coach, led first-team training this morning along with U21s Assistant Coach Darren Powell and goalkeeping coach Dean Kiely, and will lead the side for their Premier League fixture this weekend.
Speaking to Palace TV, McCarthy said of the session: “Under strange circumstances, the lads showed good energy and enthusiasm.
“We tried to implement some ideas, but we’re obviously mindful that they’re still recovering from the game the other night at Brighton, and we’re preparing for Sunday against Arsenal.
“It was good to get on the grass. The boys were excellent. They received our messages really well, so I was pleased coming off the pitch.”
Having previously coached with the first-team during pre-season, McCarthy knows the squad’s talent well, recognising: “There’s an abundance of talent in the group – I know that, I think everybody knows that – and they’ve shown it in games over the course of the season.
“They showed a lot of quality last year getting to the semi-finals of the [FA] Cup, so there’s definite quality in the group, and we just have to try our best to get that out of them.”
