'We need him' - Oliver Glasner delighted to see vital Crystal Palace star snap out of poor form

Oliver Glasner has been praising one of his key players after a hard-working draw with Fulham on New Year’s Day. The Eagles have been in poor form of late, but they manage to stop the rot with a draw that saw Tom Cairney cancel out Jean-Philippe Mateta’s first-half goal with 10 minutes left.

Though, Fulham almost won it late on, with Dean Henderson having to pull off a big save late in the game. It is now six games without a win for Palace across all competitions, but amid a slew of injuries, Glasner will be pleased to avoid defeat to kick off the New Year.

Glasner was also pleased to see Mateta find the net after going the whole of December without a Premier League goal. “[I’m pleased] for him and also for JP, of course,” Glasner said after the game, speaking to Palace TV.

“He didn't score for a couple of games and now it was a great header, being there where the No. 9 has to be,scoring the goal, and this will help him, this will help us. We know that we need JP's goals and also from (Nathan) Clyney, it was a great delivery. I think the first-half was really okay, we did well, created a few chances, but at the end I think Fulham made so much pressure that they deserved this point.”

Glasner on a tough first half of the season

Palace started the season excellently, storming into the top six with consistent form, but they have dropped to 10th in recent weeks, albeit only three points from the top six.

Reflecting on Palace’s start to the season at the halfway point, Glasner said: “Challenging to be honest, yes. We have 27 points, so [we average] 0.5 points better than last year. If we do the same we have a new [club] points record, so that's why I think with all the circumstances that have happened, with the amount of games we played, with the first European experience and also with the injury situation, I think it was a great first half of the season.

“Maybe we can split it: I think the first part was excellent. Of course, if we had continued playing like this, we would be in the Champions League positions. And the second part we had to pay the bill maybe for all the games, and we were not that fresh, and then you see in the Premier League, the teams are so good and the players are so good, the managers are so good… it's not too easy then to get a point or a win.

“But [other than] Leeds away, in all other games we were always competitive and always close to getting a point or winning the game. Overall, I think the development and the progress of the squad is absolutely on track.”

Palace now enter a tough run of games that will see them face Newcastle United, Aston Villa and then Sunderland after an FA Cup clash with Macclesfield Town.

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