‘We will focus on us’ – Crystal Palace’s development key against Chelsea says Smerud | OneFootball

Crystal Palace manager Leif Smerud says that his side are focusing on themselves ahead of a tough Adobe Women’s FA Cup quarter-final tie at Chelsea this afternoon.

The Eagles are huge underdogs as they bid to reach a first-ever Adobe Women’s FA Cup semi-final.

When speaking in the pre-match press conference, Crystal Palace boss Smerud said that the focus is on intergrating his principles into the team rather than worrying about the opposition.

“We will focus on us and what we can control,” Smerud said. “Chelsea are a great side and have shown a very high level but it’s about our development. We have to fight and we always have to do that.

“You never know what can happen. They are huge favourites but we will see if we can find a way to beat them.

“The main focus is on us, getting my ideas and principles across; that’s the natural way to approach a game like this.”

Crystal Palace are bottom of the Barclays Women’s Super League table but Smerud stopped short of admitting that retaining league status must take priority.

He said “The priority is trying to win the next game and developing the team. It’s also important to look at the big picture with me coming in at short notice and the situation that we are in. We have to have a few thoughts in mind at the same time.”

Smerud is in his second week in the job. He acknowledges the pressure that is hanging over his side but says that Crystal Palace must have a fighting mentality.

He said “It has been a rough season. When you come up, it’s not uncommon to struggle to win games. Quite a few of the games have been close, we could have won some but didn’t and that’s really hard mentally to end up on the losing side. When that happens, you get pressure.

“I’ve come in to change some perspective and make some things clear. We are doing this now and hopefully, we can bring some direction and maybe take away the fear. Rather than surviving, we want to think about fighting instead.

“There’s a challenge with squad availability at the moment, there are some injuries. That’s a concern, so we need to get every player ready and see what we can work with.”

Crystal Palace’s Adobe Women’s FA Cup quarter-final tie at Chelsea kicks-off at 2.30pm this afternoon.