What Oliver Glasner told Chris Richards when he first arrived at Crystal Palace in February has been made public.
Oliver Glasner, who took over as manager in February, has drastically improved the club’s overall atmosphere after Roy Hodgson’s disastrous tenure.
The 1-0 victory over Liverpool will be seen by Crystal Palace as a significant turning moment in the season that virtually guarantees their safety.
Chris Richards, a defender who has only been used in his preferred center-back position under Glasner, is one player who has been absent for this turnaround.
The USA international has now talked about this.
Chris Richards reveals what Oliver Glasner told him
Richards recounted what he and Glasner talked about after the Austrian arrived at Selhurst Park in an interview with club media that was released on Thursday.
When questioned about his preferred role. “Ideally, the center of defense,” Richards states.
“It was a lot of learning this year, playing right-back, centre-back, centre-mid.
“[It was] a lot of positions that I’m not quite used to, but again like I said, I’ll do whatever to be on the pitch and help us win. I think it’s been good to play in different positions because you learn a lot.”
Continuing, Richards suggests that Glasner remembers him from when they faced off in Germany as being a centre-back.
“We played against [Glasner’s] teams in Germany, so I think he remembers what my best position was.
“But coming in, we did have a small conversation, and he just kind of said that for the future he sees me playing centre-back
“All the games I played for him have been at centre-back.”
Where does Richards stand at Crystal Palace?
Given that Marc Guehi may leave Crystal Palace this summer, the center of defense appears to be a top concern.
In addition, it is obvious that the depth needs to be reinforced; a three-at-the-back system makes Palace’s weakness in this area very apparent.
Before getting hurt, Richards gave excellent performances for Glasner, so it’s reasonable to say that he’s firmly in the coach’s plans for the upcoming campaign.
Unless he moves, a fairly solid trio is on the right of the back three, with Joachim Andersen in the middle and Guehi on the left.
Thus, the goal of this summer’s recruitment should be to find a defender who can play next to the two defenders who are most likely to stay.
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