BY ANDREW MCSTEEN
Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi has said his focus is performing at his top level as the South Londoners prepare for a potential club-changing FA Cup final against Manchester City today.
With his contract in South London expiring next summer, the Eagles face a fight to hold on to the England regular with any number of clubs linked with signing the former Chelsea defender.
And when asked about the importance of leading the SE25 side to their first piece of major silverware amidst the speculation of his next move, the 24-year-old said he was only interested in his current employer.
“The most important is always doing the best that I can for this football club. I come in every day and I try to be the same, I try to work hard,” he said. “This football club has given me a lot. I’m still under contract at this football club, so my focus is always at this football club. The most important is doing the best I can, and then seeing what the future holds.”
That future could involve the first-ever European campaign for the Eagles, should they win the FA Cup at Wembley, but Guehi revealed that their focus is on the one-off game only.
“We all know how good Manchester City are and their quality, but the manager (Oliver Glasner) has mentioned the process – that’s training, preparation and just focusing on the game, not focusing on the trophy or anything else,” he explained.
“[It’s about] making sure that when we go out there, we’re ourselves, we enjoy the occasion, and we stay focused and we do the best that we can – we’re all focused on ourselves, focused on doing the best we can for the fans and trying to make history.
“The fans have been fantastic, not only this season, but every single season,” he added.
“They’ve always been behind the team, always been behind the club, and really shown their support. It’d be really nice for them to have this piece of silverware.”
And what would it mean to Guehi and his squad to win the FA Cup themselves?
“It would be a combination of all the effort that every single person has put in at this football club, not just this season, but previous seasons,” he added.
“Credit to the players who have helped the club stay in the Premier League and help build it and allow it to be where it is today. It’d be a big thing for everyone, not just this team, but for every single person that has played a part in Crystal Palace.”
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