The manager spoke to his staff and players at full-time following the Eagles’ remarkable 3-0 win over Aston Villa at Wembley – and the message was clear: celebrate, and prepare to go again, as the Final awaits on Saturday, 17th May...
Every word of Glasner’s post-match message to his players
A Palace performance for the ages – and one which Oliver Glasner told his players to celebrate fully but also to build upon, having fully merited their spot in the FA Cup Final.
“Guys, first of all, I really want to keep it short – but I told you today at the meeting, even before the game, that I’m proud of you as a team and as human beings and with your characters, because of your tough decisions.
“I told you, and I felt – I never tell you something that you can’t do – I felt, guys, that we were able to achieve [it]: to write history for Crystal Palace – because this spirit and everybody is here for the team.
“We had so many setbacks in this season. I really remember two tough away games, conceding 10 and everything, guys. But we were always together, always together, and we learned from it – we learned from it.
“Running a lot, missing a penalty... we didn’t lose our heads. We stuck to the plan and knew we’d get the second – and we got the second. And that’s outstanding.
“Again, I know months ago, when we were in Marbella, I told you guys – this is because I know you as players, I know your talent, but especially I know your character – that we can achieve outstanding things this year.
“Now, we’ve made not the last step, but we’ve made the next step.
“It’s great. The performance was unbelievable. The togetherness was unbelievable, and we fully deserve to play the Final.
“Enjoy this evening – we were also talking about this three minutes out there [with the fans] you cannot buy. You can have billions of pounds, but you can’t buy it guys. You have to deserve it – to walk half the pitch and get all this happiness, this love from the fans.
“But you deserved it – with how you played, with the effort, with the commitment, with the togetherness.
“So enjoy this evening, enjoy this night. Unbelievable performance, well-deserved, and we’ll meet at Thursday, 9.30 in the morning!”