Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner has launched a scathing attack on Steve Parish and the Crystal Palace board, claiming that his players have been “abandoned” and left with “no support” during an extremely difficult period for the south London club.
The Austrian’s comments follow a challenging seven days that saw Palace suffer a 2-1 loss at the Stadium of Light against Sunderland, a result that extended their dismal run to ten consecutive matches across all competitions without tasting victory.
The defeat compounds a week of turmoil at Selhurst Park, as Glasner has now confirmed he will depart the club when the current campaign concludes, while centre-back Marc Guehi is understood to be close to securing a transfer away from south London.
The Eagles’ woes this week also included a humiliating FA Cup third-round elimination at the hands of non-League Macclesfield.
During the Sunderland encounter, the Palace manager opted not to make any substitutions throughout the 90 minutes, explaining that his approach was designed to shield his squad from further scrutiny.
He said: “The players did for 50-60 minutes play well and the game was quite even. Then in 15 to 20 minutes under pressure they took the lead (at 2-1) and we tried everything to get back into the game.
“Couldn’t support them from the bench. That’s how it feels now, I think the players left their hearts on the pitch.
“Your heart gets torn out twice in a season, one day before a game with (Eberechi) Eze in the summer and Guehi now.”
Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner has launched a scathing attack on Steve Parish and the Crystal Palace board
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He added: “It’s tough to say why, but that’s how it feels right now. We feel that we are being abandoned, no support, playing with 12/13 players for weeks now and the bench just kids.
“We’ve never played in a stadium or an atmosphere like this, then I see the players and everyone is disappointed. That’s why I’m saying, it’s not to protect myself, I don’t care about me. But they need to be protected because they are leaving their heart.
“I made no substitutions because it would have been unfair. That’s why we are where we are, we have a few players, they played their fifth game now.
“We need support. This group of players needs support and that’s how it feels.”
It comes the day after Oliver Glasner announced he will leave Crystal Palace at the end of the season
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Captain Marc Guehi was not included in the squad as he closes in on a switch to Manchester City, a move Glasner revealed he only found out about on Friday morning.
He said: “We’re selling our captain one day before a game. First time I heard about it was 10.30 yesterday.
“All they said was everything was prepared, we had to change everything. Nobody told us.
“You then have to stand in front of the group telling them the captain doesn’t play tomorrow.
Oliver Glasner’s side lost to Sunderland
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The Palace Boss said: “Then lifting the mood – again I think they did well for all the circumstances.
“When I see them, how hard they are working, that’s why I’m so direct today because I feel I have to protect them.
“I see them every single day and that makes it so disappointing because it’s not so easy to play here, as many teams have experienced.
“Therefore, for 50/60 minutes the performance was really good and at the end, of course, it’s frustrating.”
