Angry Oliver Glasner says Crystal Palace squad have been ‘abandoned’
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Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner has said he will leave at the end of the season.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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LONDON – Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner lashed out at the club’s hierarchy after a 2-1 English Premier League defeat at Sunderland on Jan 17, saying his squad have been “abandoned completely”.
Glasner, who led Palace to victory in the FA Cup
He also confirmed on the eve of the trip to Sunderland that defender Marc Guehi, the captain, was set to join Manchester City – the latest high-profile departure from the squad.
“I feel we are being abandoned completely,” he told the BBC.
“I can’t blame any player. They did everything they could and this has been going on for weeks and months now.
“We have 12, 13 players from the squad available and we feel no support. The worst thing is selling our captain one day before playing a Premier League game.”
City have agreed to pay £20 million (S$34.5 million) for Guehi, who was on the verge of joining Liverpool in 2025 before the deal fell through at the last minute.
Eberechi Eze, who scored the winning goal in the FA Cup final against City, was sold to Arsenal
At the Stadium of Light on Jan 17, Yeremy Pino opened the scoring for Palace but Sunderland hit back via Enzo le Fee and Brian Brobbey to extend the visitors’ winless Premier League run to seven matches.
“I have always kept my mouth (shut), but I can’t because I have to defend these players, because it was the 35th game today,” Glasner said.
“If you get your heart torn out twice this season, one day before a game, it was with Eze in the summer, it was with Guehi now...
“What should I tell the players all the time? What should I tell them? And then I see the performance today for 50, 60 minutes – it was not easy with all the circumstances going here with 12 players from the squad.
“I look at the bench, I can’t react, just kids on the bench, and this has not happened yesterday, this is weeks ago. That’s why I’m really frustrated today.”
Asked whether he would leave before the season is over, Glasner said: “No, never, I would never. I will go with this group of players until the end.”
Across London, the mood at Tottenham Hotspur darkened further after Spurs slipped to a 2-1 defeat against West Ham United, who had not won a Premier League match since early November.
Spurs fans turned on Thomas Frank and chanted “you’re getting sacked in the morning” after Callum Wilson struck a stoppage-time winner. Crysencio Summerville had opened the scoring for West Ham, before Spurs captain Cristian Romero equalised.
Spurs, 14th in the table, have won just two home league games this season, leaving Frank, in his first campaign in charge, under enormous pressure.
“It’s tough to take, it hurts a lot,” the Dane told Sky Sports. “The boys put everything in, and that’s a sign of a squad that is fighting, doing everything they can to try and win.” REUTERS, AFP
