Despite an almost pathological hunger to win football matches, Oliver Glasner always makes an effort to play down a big occasion.
In his final pre-match press conference as Crystal Palace manager, the Austrian was keen to emphasise that Wednesday night’s game was not meant to be treated differently.
“I don’t really rank these [finals]. If you play in a final, then that means you did a lot of things right in the competition, from winning all the cup games domestically to playing against a lot of opponents from all sorts of countries that play different styles – and that’s why every final is important.”
Glasner took a similar approach before the Eagles’ famous FA Cup victory last year, having told his players to focus foremost on enjoying themselves. Palace fans will never forget how that match turned out.
This time, however, with his imminent departure in mind, there was more melancholy in his words.
“I don’t like to tell what I’m telling the players, but I said, for me, the best thing would be, of course, winning tomorrow – but not for [the sake of] winning tomorrow. Because, then they play European football in the Europa League next year, and then they get next year what we should have had this year.”
“I would like to watch on TV that they start the Europa League with the desire and the confidence that they can win the Europa League as well. This would make me really happy, because then I think we created a mindset altogether [which], at the end, is always successful.”
“That doesn’t mean that you win a trophy every single year, but at the end, you will always get the best out of every single player and every single team, and that’s why I hope that we win tomorrow, [and] that these players can play European football next year again”.
This idea of creating a ‘mindset’ for success that can outlast Glasner’s tenure has emerged as a theme for the Austrian – especially in the last few months. Building self-belief and consistency are other core tenets of the collective mentality he has nurtured in South London.
However, Glasner also appreciates the little things. A typical 'activation' (pre-training warm-up) exercise for his team is a game of head tennis, and tomorrow's preparation will be no different.
“We always play head tennis [for activation]. And then this is one of the best [for me], to be honest, because everybody is a little bit excited – and me as well – and it’s a long day [tomorrow].”
“These 30 minutes when the players play head tennis are one of the best moments for me because I see kids playing football. They have so much fun, everybody wants to win, but they are laughing and joking, and I’m sitting there just watching and having a big smile.”
“I hope they are also loving tomorrow and joking, and that they’re not introverted because they’re nervous. I think we should be who they are, and then we have the best chance to show a great performance.”
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