Crystal Palace captain Dean Henderson has called for unity as the team prepares for the decisive second leg of their Conference League playoff against Zrinjski Mostar. The England goalkeeper, who became a cult hero after saving a penalty in last season's FA Cup final victory over Manchester City, acknowledged the club's difficult period but urged everyone to come together.
Henderson said: “I think it’s important that we have that [unity]. It’s been a difficult period and the players have to take a lot of responsibility. We had too many injuries and we just couldn’t cope with the amount of games. Now we’ve got everyone back and we’ve been picking up some good results, so hopefully that can give the club a boost. We’re playing European football and it should be a time for everyone to come together and enjoy that.”
The goalkeeper also stressed the need to shift the narrative: “It’s time to shift the narrative and really smile and enjoy these moments because they don’t come round often, instead of putting all the negative spin on everything.” His comments come after fans turned on manager Oliver Glasner during the first leg, with a banner at Sunday's win against Wolves describing him as “finished” and lamenting “missed opportunities”.
Glasner, who struck a truce with chairman Steve Parish to see out the season, warned players about focusing on summer moves. Henderson echoed that: “If you don’t put the performances in order, you don’t get the move you want, so they need to be very careful.” The manager pointed to injuries and European commitments as factors in the team's struggles, saying: “When I see the big picture, it’s just incredible where we are right now.”
