Manager Oliver Glasner says Crystal Palace are aiming for a more consistent performance across 90 minutes, as the Eagles look to extend their strong start to the New Year against West Ham.
Palace make the short trip over to East London in search of a third win in six days - which would make it seven games unbeaten away from home in the league, the Eagles' best sequence on the road in the Premier League era.
Glasner also discussed West Ham's approach under new manager Graham Potter, and how Palace will cope with Trevoh Chalobah's departure after he was recalled by Chelsea earlier this week...
We wanted to do it [start fast] at Leicester as well, but it didn't work. Sometimes you want to do something in a game, but it doesn't work and this will happen.
But the more important thing is that you can change it during a game. If we have a slow start into the game and then win them 2-0, it's OK. But, of course, it's what we're always talking about.
Performing over 90, 95 and 100 minutes at your top level of performance, it just increases the possibility of a win. And that's what we want.
At Leicester, it was enough performing 45 minutes on a good level, but this doesn't work in every game.
I think we've had quite a good improvement and made good progress after a very slow and difficult start.
Some reasons we couldn't influence, like players being at the Euros and the Olympics. Some reasons we could have done better with.
But then it was important to stay together and work hard on the pitch. This is what the players always did here. And then getting in the best shape, getting to know each other.
Somebody showed me a league table from the last 13 games. I think we're seventh, we have 21 points, and everybody was always talking about last season. We had 13 games last season when I arrived, and we had 24 points, so it's not that big a difference.
The last two games Trevoh [Chalobah] didn't play and we had two clean sheets. He didn't play against Chelsea either and we only conceded one goal, so in the last three we conceded just one goal.
I think our defence, our defensive structure with our goalkeeper, has been a big strength in the last few weeks. It has been the base of our recent run – not just the defensive three, but together with the No. 6s. This is what we didn't do well at Leicester – usually, we get more pressure on the ball and we don't give them so many opportunities to pass forward. The second-half was better.
The pressure always starts at the front and then it makes it easier for the back three or five.
Chris Richards had a short pre-season, then was injured but in every game he has played, he has done well.
At the moment, we have four centre-backs available for three positions. We always know [Nathaniel] Clyney can play it, so he showed it. We also know Jefferson Lerma can play it.
It's not that we are nervously [thinking] that we need a centre-back. We still have many very good defenders.
I don't know him [Graham Potter] in person, but everything I hear about him is positive. He did a great job at Brighton and maybe deserved more time at Chelsea to implement his ideas.
From what I saw he had a prompt impact on the team. In their FA Cup game at Aston Villa, he was only there two days and in the first-half they were very structured, they kept Villa to no shots at half-time; at Villa Park that is quite difficult.
They make it difficult to find space to create chances against them. Against Fulham they were efficient and had four shots and scored three goals. It was a good switch between high press – they scored two empty-net goals because they won the ball very high in the opposite box.
They're struggling with strikers after the accident of Michail Antonio and the injury of Niclas Fullkrug. In the last game, they played with Lucas Paquetá as a false nine, and Tomás Souček, both very good football players.
It will be a challenge. But we feel in a good shape. We feel ready for this game. We also analysed our game at Leicester, where we all, including the players, were not quite happy with our performance.
We talked about it, analysed it and we now have the next chance to perform better. But of course it is a game to win again.
