Speaking prior to that fixture, Glasner told Palace TV about the value of this week's trip to Spain; his thoughts on Crystal Palace's performances so far in his tenure; and his hopes for the final 10 games of the season...
Glasner reflects on successful mid-season trip to Marbella
Oliver Glasner has been pleased with his side's output at the mid-season training camp in Marbella, which culminated in a 1-0 friendly win over Norwegian champions Bodø/Glimt on Thursday afternoon.
On the trip to Marbella…
We've had perfect conditions: a great pitch, the players are working really hard and very well, and with it, what's important, there’s a very good mood in training and also in the hotel. In the first place, I'm very happy with everything.
In the game against Bodø/Glimt, it is also important for us to show, in an international game, what we are doing in training.
But at the moment, I'm really happy with everything here in Spain.
On a change in environment...
It's nothing to do with England! It’s just, you know, there's three weeks with no games, and sometimes, three weeks of [being] every day at the training ground, knowing that there is no game on the weekend, is a long time.
So it's good to have a change, not just in the environment. We are also here with the opportunity to spend a lot of time together, not just arriving in the morning and leaving after training like it would be in England. We’re also having dinner together, having meetings, talking to each other – we have here 24 hours a day.
And this is also important for us to get us known personally in the group, and understanding each other.
On life so far at Crystal Palace…
Very good, really. It was, of course, a busy time, but I’ve had great support from everybody in the club, in the staff. The players are really open-minded and great characters.
And everywhere, the club does everything to support us. It starts with transport from the hotel to the training ground and everything, and then also with family visits at the weekends for games. So I have to say ‘thank you’ to all the guys in the club for the big support.
I’ve really enjoyed it. I’ve enjoyed the time with the players. I’ve enjoyed the time with the staff.
I’ve enjoyed the time at Selhurst with our fans. And I’ve enjoyed the time in south London, because I really found a lot of great characters and very nice guys.
The attitude of the players to listen, to try to improve and also change something, I like it a lot, and it was a good start for us.
Of course, the draw against Luton still hurts a little bit, with the goal in the last 15 or 20 seconds. But sometimes you also need to fail so that you can improve again.
And in this situation, we can also learn a lot from it. All our experiences help us to grow as a group, to grow as a club – and this is what we want to do.
On the Palace supporters…
I enjoyed both home games against Burnley and Luton a lot, and also the away game at Tottenham, a nice stadium, and also our fans supported us in a fantastic way.
So that's why I love football: to have these emotions, to have this support, and then doing everything you can to win the game. This attitude, this togetherness, is really great to feel.
On adapting to his style of football…
We are on a good way, a good pathway – but we're still at the beginning.
We can see some, let's say, improvements, but also some changes. This is how we’ve started, but it's not possible to have a lot of changes that work in two or three weeks – but the basement is here.
The character of the players, the quality of the players, the talent of the players, the staff that is supporting me and us every minute of the day. And also a club, like Crystal Palace, who said: ‘OK, we want to change something’.
This is what we have now started to do together, and I'm really looking forward to the next weeks and months.
On the focus of the week in Spain…
We've had a very intense and also long training session. We had already two meetings talking about the Luton game, what we did do so well, what we did really well. And again, as a starting point for improvement – it's not a criticism or to blame somebody. It's just to learn from things.
We are always very honest to each other, and the players are listening. And then in training, we try to improve.
We try to implement some details we want to see on the pitch, and this was [the focus] most of the time here in Spain.
On the game against Bodø/Glimt…
We've had really tough training until now. And that [game] is to show what we did in training, to try things. Also, [to play] with no worries and not being afraid of making mistakes.
It's try, try and try – and learn from it. And it is good that we have now not a league game, because the result is number two.
Of course, we want to win this game, but I want to see that we try what we do in possession, out of possession. And also then, step by step, to improve and increase our performance.
Palace went on to win 1-0 against the Norwegian champions thanks to Ebere Eze's first-half goal – and you can watch highlights of the game below!
On the inclusion of Academy players in the squad in Marbella…
They can show their talent. They can show their qualities. They can show their strengths.
And this is what I want to see: don't care about mistakes – show your strengths, show your abilities, because this is why they are in our Academy, and this is how they have an opportunity to become part of the first-team, with their strengths and with their abilities.
This is what they can show. But until now, they’re also doing really well in the training sessions and we support them as we support every single player, and it's a good possibility for them.
On what he wants to see in the season run-in…
Yes, that [improvement] is it. And of course, a lot of points. This is what we expect.
We play for winning the game. But we want to win it more with our style, with our way of playing, with playing forward, with attacking, with being creative in set plays.
This is how we want to play the last 10 games this season.