McArthur ‘relishing every opportunity’ with Palace

On his way back from long-term injury, the Palace midfielder made his first competitive appearance in 10 months when he came on for the closing stages of Saturday’s defeat at Villa Park.

For McArthur – who discusses his recovery process in an in-depth interview in this Saturday’s matchday programme against Manchester City, available to order here for delivery to your door – the occasion was a long time coming.

Finishing with the captain’s armband on his 250th appearance for the club, the 35-year-old was disappointed to end the game on the losing side, but believes opportunities remain there for Palace in the weeks ahead.

“It was nice to be back,” he noted, speaking to cpfc.co.uk. “When I was on the bench for a few weeks, it was nice to be involved again, but to finally get some minutes was nice – obviously under difficult circumstances.

“Losing the game was tough, but to be out there, trying to help the team again, was what I’ve been working so hard for.

“Especially after such a long time out – all the hard work in the gym, all the frustrating days you have when you’re injured – to finally be back out there with the lads was a nice moment.

“When you get older, you start appreciating things more. I’m relishing every opportunity to come on. Whether that’s trying to help the team get back into a game, or it’s coming on to close out a 1-0 win, I’ll do whatever’s required of me to help the team, even if that’s not playing and just being a voice in the dressing room.”

That voice carries with it not only great footballing experience, but also sharp insight.

The strength of McArthur’s character makes it little wonder that manager Patrick Vieira recently praised his role in the squad, even while injury has prevented him from taking to the grass.

The Scot explained: “I always felt involved, even when I wasn’t. I was in the stands, kicking every ball, heading every ball…

“You go in at half-time and try to help the lads, and try to keep them going when they’re in bad moments, or encourage them in good moments.

“I’m taking each step now as a bonus. I don’t expect to come back in and be a player that plays every single minute. I’m here to do what’s required for the team to perform well, whether that’s 10 minutes, half-an-hour, starting a game, sitting in the stands helping the lads…

“Everything’s a bonus for me from now. I just need to make sure I keep staying fit, help every day in training – and if called upon on Saturday, I’ll be ready to help.”

There is little more frustrating for any footballer than the unpredictability of a long-term recovery process.

But McArthur, like the medical team around him, acted with a typically level-headed approach, which he believes was crucial to his recovery.

“When you get a hamstring injury, you know it’s a six-week injury. When you have a hip operation, especially at my age, you don’t know if you will ever return to playing.

“It’s tough for any player going through a rehabilitative process – but it’s harder when you don’t know whether you’re going to get back.

“With this process, a lot of it was ‘see how you feel each day.’ The process and plan was always changing. We were very flexible as a team – the physios were very flexible.

“No matter how positive you are, you don’t know if you’re going to get back. That’s where the lads were good too, coming up to me and saying: ‘Keep going’. That’s what we’ve got here. Everyone at this club sticks with each other, and helps each other in difficult moments.”

If you were to observe the recent Premier League form book, you might consider Palace to be in one such ‘difficult moment’, having tackled a string of extremely challenging fixtures since the turn of the year and with Manchester City, Brighton and Arsenal to come prior to the international break.

Yet where others see challenge, McArthur sees opportunity.

He smiled: “If you were to pick three fixtures from now until the international break, you probably couldn’t pick harder ones, but I see it as an opportunity, rather than a tough task.

“I see it as an opportunity to prove people wrong, and get results where people might not expect us to.”

That first assignment – the visit of Manchester City to Selhurst Park on Saturday – will demand a display of togetherness.

“They’ve got world-class players right throughout the team – they’re one of the best teams in the world,” McArthur recognises.

“We need to stop their threats all over the park, and do everything right. There’s no better team in the league for dominating possession, so I think it’s important we get in their faces and make it an uncomfortable place to come to.

“We’ll need to stick together. We know that they’re going to have a lot of the ball, so we won’t start running out of position. When we get the ball, we’ll be patient. We’ll have a good gameplan and we’ll stick to it. If we do that, we’ve shown before we can beat these teams.

“It’s about everyone doing their job and working together as a team. Even if we man-mark Kevin de Bruyne out of the game, for example, it doesn’t mean you’re going to win because the rest of their players are very, very good – but it’s 11 v 11 at the end of the day."

At least on the pitch at Selhurst Park, it will be - but off it...

“Our fans are unbelievable, and we are going to need them. They have been so patient when we know we’re not on a good run.

“We need them more than ever, and we need them to stick with us. For me, there’s no better place than Selhurst Park under the lights.

"If the fans keep with us and keep driving us on, we will turn it around, and we will get wins.”

Read James McArthur’s full in-depth interview – in which he discusses his recovery process, rehabilitation with Nathan Ferguson, his thoughts on Wilfried Zaha and the potential of the club, and more – in Saturday’s matchday programme for Manchester City (H).

You can get your hands on the programme from vendors in and around Selhurst Park for just £3.50. You can also order programmes online for delivery straight to your door.

Alternatively, you can read a digital version from 17:30 GMT on Friday (10th March) for £1.99; visit cpfc.co.uk at that time for further details.

Gold, Junior Eagles Gold and International Members, and Season Ticket+ holders, get the digital programme sent direct to them at no extra charge – you can become a Member by clicking here!