Oliver Glasner loves a chat with the Austrian media.
The Crystal Palace manager speaks to his country’s press frequently and has done so in recent months, both before, during and after the Eagles having their pre-season camp there.
Sunday’s edition of Die Presse am Sonntag, a Vienna published newspaper, has a lengthy interview with Glasner.
Earlier this summer the manager spoke about his frustration at a lack of action on Crystal Palace transfers, and a worry that business was being left too late and potentially jeopardising the club’s start to the season.
At the end of July, he said: “Even though all the players are still here, we haven’t made the most of the transfer window so far. I was promised that we would be more active and bring in the new players earlier this year.
“As of now, I have 17 outfield players! I hope we don’t lose any more. If that happens and we get four new ones on deadline day like last year, another false start is possible.”
Then a week into August he spoke to Sky Austria and was a little more upbeat.
So which version of Oliver Glasner do we have today? One that sounds very much in love with Crystal Palace but also individually ambitious.
Asked how Crystal Palace responded to his ambition when he joined, the manager said: “I said openly: If the goal is to finish somewhere between eleventh and fifteenth every season, I’m not the right person. I can’t sustain that in the long run. But the club management assured me: “We want to develop Crystal Palace.” That convinced me. I analysed the team beforehand and saw their potential. I also immediately felt that the players were ready for new impulses.
“The club was struggling at the time – and when things aren’t going well, the willingness to change is greater. Like in medicine: As long as you’re healthy, you ignore advice. If you’re unwell, you’ll take almost any medication.”
One of the first changes the 50-year-old made was cutting the two days off players enjoyed a week to one, making Sunday a training day. That set out his intentions regarding focus.
On not looking for excuses when difficulties have visited, Glasner said: “I believe in the saying: Winners don’t make excuses. We embraced the situation as a challenge. Anyone who had been to our training would have thought we were in first place – the atmosphere and work ethic were that good. There was never any unrest internally. I felt we were turning things around; the quality was there.”
Asked for an example of a player who embodies the spirit he’s built, the manager mentioned someone who may not be with him for much longer: “Eberechi Eze – a player who can score a goal out of nowhere that brings us victory. Sometimes you need that kind of momentum, without everyone having played tactically perfect and eight one-twos beforehand.”
On his goals for the season, Glasner made clear transfers, in and out, will play a part: “That obviously depends on how the transfer window goes. If you constantly lose your best players and don’t replace them accordingly, it will be difficult to maintain or even improve your level. Except for the first eight match days, we finished at least seventh for the rest of last season. If that’s possible, I can’t think of any reasons why we couldn’t achieve that for the entire season.”
Die Presse am Sonntag then turned to questions about Glasner’s personal career outlook.
Firstly, they asked what he’d need to extend his contract with Crystal Palace: “My career has had many unexpected twists and turns. I often thought I was going to turn left – and suddenly it went right. I have a motto that I try to live by, even if I don’t always succeed: Carpe diem – live in the here and now. I tell the players the same thing: Don’t worry about what will happen in three months. We don’t know that anyway. But we can shape everything today.”
On if he wants to manager a top club: “If we manage to establish ourselves in the top half of the Premier League with Crystal Palace, that will be a top club for me. Not at the absolute top of England, but certainly among the top 30 or 40 clubs in Europe. Then I would consider my coaching job to be one of the extended elite of European football.”
The Austrian newspaper pressed further and asked if that’s really enough to satisfy him: “I want the fans to be happy. When I think about how they celebrated at Wembley, I get goosebumps. That feeling of satisfaction is something no amount of money can buy. Many have said they never expected to win a title with Crystal Palace – and that their dream has come true. Being able to contribute to that is the reason why I spend 70 to 80 hours a week playing football, far away from my family.”
There may be uncertainty around the future, and Oliver Glasner is clearly ambitious, but this is a manger who has found a place he feels appreciated and somewhere he can build a legacy.