Glasner reacts to narrow defeat
Oliver Glasner has given his verdict on Crystal Palace’s defeat to Nottingham Forest on Monday night.
In his post-match press conference, the manager said: “It looks like, at the moment, that every game is a little bit the same: a close game and one or two situations decide it. It was the same today. The team, the players, they tried everything, worked hard, created chances, created situations.
“But at the end if we don't score – at the moment we don't score goals, we should score more – then it's always tough: one mistake and then we get punished. I think we’ve all had better times in football, better times in sports.
“The players tried everything to win the game, to get the equaliser at the end. But at the moment, we have to be honest, it's not enough.
“Everybody's frustrated, everybody's disappointed. And yes, it's our responsibility, especially mine now, to get chins up, the head up of every single player to support them.
“At the moment I don't think it's a tactical problem, it's a mentality problem. It's a lack of confidence, we can see it, and so this is what we have to change. And if you don't win, of course, it's not that easy.
“But the passion today, the hard work, the mentality… I saw the players in the dressing room are very disappointed, but nobody was blaming each other. Now, it's time to support each other."
One positive from Monday evening saw 19-year-old winger Asher Agbinone produce a bright cameo on his senior Crystal Palace debut.
Glasner noted: “We brought him on because he has a lot of pace. He can run in behind and dribble. He also created a corner, and this was the reason, because he's maybe one of our fastest players. He's a very good talent.
“I think it's not the moment to give all the responsibility of scoring to a 19-year-old Academy player. With other players, I saw them taking the responsibility. But it was two unbelievable saves from [Forest goalkeeper Matz] Sels, from Ebs’ finish and [Jeffrey] Schlupp’s finish especially. Twice we hit the post, so again, there’s no one to blame at the moment."
Glasner said of goalkeeper Dean Henderson: “He tried to apologise [for the goal] but I didn't allow it. It's not to blame anybody – he made so many big saves for us this season and last season, and it happens. It's sports and again, they are all human.
“It's always about how we deal with the mistakes. It took us 5-10 minutes, and then the reaction of the team is what gives me a positive feeling for our next games.
“Against Tottenham [on Sunday], I don't expect an easy game. This is a great team, very attacking, they have a lot of pace, maybe the team with the most pace in the league.
“We know the challenges we have, and we will need Dean – and he will help us for sure.”