On the outcome of Palace’s appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport…
You have to accept it. It's past, don't talk about it. It's gone. We can't change it anymore. You have to accept it. If you are always mourning about things, it just doesn't help.
Honestly, when we were training Monday morning, we were told about the final verdict. I told it to the players – and we were laughing and enjoying our training session after winning the Community Shield.
This is how we deal with circumstances we can't influence. This is a big credit to the players that they also have this mindset and follow this pathway.
On winning the Community Shield last weekend…
Every win, especially every good performance, helps you to build confidence, getting quicker into the rhythm you want to be in. I mentioned it before the game, we were starting on a completely different level to the year before, and I think the players showed it.
It was easier because it was the same starting line-up as in the FA Cup final. The players know exactly how we want to play, what they have to do in every single phase of the game. It just helps you to have confidence when you face such a great team like Liverpool.
We had this confidence after being down twice. It's not surprising for me because I could see it in training. I still think we are not at our top level. You can’t be.
This is Chris Richards' third week of training so he is not in his top physical shape, but every single game, every training, every week will help him to be there like with all the others. This is how we are preparing now for the upcoming season.
I think we can perform better [than last season], yes. It doesn't mean you have a higher finish. We don't know what the other teams are doing. The transfer market looks like it's going crazy at the moment. It's still on for two-and-a-half weeks. We don't know what the other teams are doing.
I think if we stay together, we will play a better season than last year. That doesn't mean we have a higher ranking, but I expect us to do better over the whole 38 games in the Premier League. I think we can't do better in the FA Cup – but we’ll try to repeat it – and of course, we want to play a good role in the UEFA Conference League, but step one is to qualify for the group stage.
