‘For 120 years Crystal Palace entered every cup competition to win it’ – Glasner on Conference League challenge | OneFootball

Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner has insisted it will not be straightforward to win the Conference League, and says the Eagles are too far from the final to think about the trophy yet.

Palace face Zrinjski Mostar in the second leg of their round of 32 clash and the tie is currently level at 1-1. The second leg is at Selhurst Park.

Asked if he believed his team can win the competition, Glasner said: “I don’t want to talk now about winning a trophy because we are round of last 32, so very far away. We always enter every single competition to win it, but that doesn’t mean (it will happen).

“I think for 120 years Crystal Palace entered every cup competition to win it. This group of players has done it once, last year. So every team will enter the competition (thinking they can win), but just one can lift the trophy at the end. It just makes no sense to talk now about it.”

Palace have been through a rocky few months recently. Glasner announced he would be leaving the club at the end of the season just over a month ago, and since then the relationship between manager and fans has started to deteriorate.

Asked if Selhurst Park has to be united tomorrow, the Austrian replied: “Yes, I think that’s what we need, having this spirit of togetherness and everybody supporting everybody. On the pitch, off the pitch and this is what we need. I think this is the foundation of every big success in any football club, in any company and in anything.”

Palace are currently 13th in the Premier League, but just five points off seventh-placed Brentford, and Glasner also said he would not disregard the league to focus on the Conference League.

“I think the right mindset is to win the next game, and not think about the end of May. I think I told you the same last year, when we started our FA Cup journey, when we played in the Premier League, that it makes no sense to talk about the end of the season when you’re in the middle of it. 

“So I think it’s the same in the league, it’s now important to play consistently better than we did in the last few games.”