Oliver Glasner: Three new rules Crystal Palace boss has implemented since taking over from Roy Hodgson

Crystal Palace have a manager who survived a brain haemorrhage, dreamt of working in the Premier League and won the 2021-22 Europa League with Eintracht Frankfurt.

Oliver Glasner has shown in his first two months at Crystal Palace that patience will be key, but things are moving in the right direction after he masterminded an impressive win against title-chasing Liverpool.

The Austrian did so by playing one recognised centre-back in Joachim Andersen, paired with midfielder Jefferson Lerma. It made all the difference as his style of football finally landed within a group of players accustomed to being reactive rather than proactive.

Glasner is the first person to arrive at the club’s Copers Cope training ground in Beckenham and the last to leave, sources at the club say. He lives his work and many at the club believe he is one to take them to the next level.

He has made some adjustments to the way the team prepares for games and, even though the results have not always followed, the performance indicators all show players are keeping the ball better, creating chances and putting in more miles.

After what has been a great week in a season of challenges, here are three things he has tweaked

Training after game days

In the past, under both Patrick Vieira and Roy Hodgson, the players had the day after a match off, but Glasner has changed that. He ensures that players come in for recovery the following day.

If they travelled for an away game, they return to the training ground at midday the following day instead of taking it off. This, according to sources, is to ensure optimum recovery, to debrief and to avoid injuries or setbacks.

Pick-ups not allowed on away games

Another change has been how players leave away games. In the past players would be allowed to leave immediately after games, but the manager has ensured that players leave in the coach together and usually have their meals in the coach before meeting at the hotel.

From the hotel, they are given the freedom to decide how they get back, instead of just having everyone leave the stadium on their own. At Selhurst, for home games, nothing has changed as it is considered easy for everyone to drive home after the game. Sources within the club say this has brought a level of togetherness, with players allowed to share their opinions on what went right and wrong immediately after games.

Arrive three hours before kick-off

Under Vieira, players had to arrive three hours before kick-off and that reverted to two hours under Hodgson. That continued under Glasner, but in the last two games he has insisted that players arrive three hours before games.

They have their meal together and the starting XI is confirmed in a short meeting before they head to the stadium. This is the ritual Glasner practised when he was manager of Eintracht Frankfurt.

Sources say these changes have landed well with the group, who have shown in the last few weeks that they are open to taking in new things and styles of play. The win against Liverpool brought him belief in the squad, and now they will hope to build on it on Sunday against West Ham.