Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner has dismissed suggestions that his side will be influenced by the Premier League title race when they face Manchester City on Wednesday evening. The Eagles travel to the Etihad Stadium with City needing a win to close the gap on Arsenal to just two points, but Glasner insists his priority is solely his own team's interests.
Rotation on the Cards
With the Europa Conference League final against Rayo Vallecano just over two weeks away, Glasner hinted at potential rotation. He stated: "When you watch our games, like against Fiorentina, with these amount of games playing every third day, we always rotated. Between the Fiorentina games I think it was West Ham, Newcastle, then it was at Bournemouth. We also planned our substitutions at 45 minutes."
The Austrian boss emphasised that rotation is necessary in a long season, noting that his players showed impressive physical data against Everton just three days after facing Shakhtar Donetsk. He added: "It just shows what an incredibly well shape the players are in physically."
No Allegiance to Title Contenders
When asked about the title race implications, Glasner was unequivocal: "After your question I had a look at my payslip to see if we get some money from Arsenal or City. I couldn't find it. I'm responsible for Crystal Palace, not for Arsenal and for City. I just got the confirmation. This is what we always do. We always think what is best for us."
He downplayed his team's potential impact on the title race, saying: "I think our influence on the title race will definitely be less than VAR."
Maintaining Focus
Despite potential changes, Glasner insisted his side will not lose focus ahead of the Conference League final. "It's not possible now to switch off for two weeks and then switch on two days before the final. It's just not possible," he said.
Palace have two more Premier League matches after the City game: away to Brentford and then at home to title-chasing Arsenal on the final day of the season.
