Adam Wharton admitted that improving his leadership skills was an area he was working on.
The England midfielder captained Crystal Palace for the first time last weekend when the Eagles were beaten 3-2 at home by Ipswich in the Premier League. Despite still only being 22 years old, Wharton is one of the more experienced players within the squad with 101 appearances to his name.
In a press conference ahead of the Lech Poznan game in the Europa League, he explained the importance of improving as a leader, after seeing Pierre Sage arrive alongside 10 signings.
“Yeah, I think it's just part of sort of improving as a player,” explained Wharton
“Trying to lead the team more, be more vocal during training.
“I think the more you speak and communicate on the pitch, the easier it is as a team to play together and be on the same page.
I think especially with a lot of new signings, new faces, you have to communicate more because they're trying to adapt to new players, new tactics, maybe a different intensity if they've come from a different league.
So I think trying to sort of communicate more and trying to have a little bit more of a leadership role on the pitch is something I want to work on. I feel like I'm improving on that.
“If I'm captain, if I'm not, I still want to sort of help the team and be someone they can look to, to sort of pull us together when we might need it. Hopefully I can do that even better throughout the season”.
On a personal level, Wharton was not too pleased with how his own individual performances had been in the early weeks of the season, but admits that it was always going to take time to get to grips with Sage’s system.
“Personally, I'm not sort of delighted with how I started. A few good bits, but also a lot of stuff to work on, and that's what I'm trying to do in training. I just want to get better and better.
“With the new gaffer, staff coming in, new way of playing, a lot of new signings, it's just about working every day, trying to sort of implement his way of playing, how he wants to be in possession, out of possession, and trying to gel with the new teammates, what their strengths are, how I can get the best out of them, with the players that were already here.
“It's not always smooth sailing when there are new tactics and a lot of new faces; it's not just going to click like that.
“There's lots of positives to take from certain parts of the games, but also a lot to work on, and that's what we'll continue to do in the coming weeks and hopefully start to be more consistent throughout the full period of the game.”
During the summer transfer window, Wharton was linked with a move to Manchester City; however, Wharton reaffirmed his commitment to the Eagles.
“I've never really thought about my transfer this summer. I stay very far away from it. My agent doesn't really tell me anything. I don't want to know anything.
If I'm not going to move, then there's no need for me to have any information. It's only just going to sort of be in your mind and make you overthink it. So I never even thought about a different club.
I was always here training, looking forward to the season with the gaffer. New staff, obviously, new players coming in, and it's the same this season.
I've still got three years left at Crystal Palace, so for all I know, I'm here for another three years unless another club comes in, or there is a new contract”
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