On balancing Premier League and European commitments...
I just can talk about our situation. And I think what we can also see is, because Newcastle are a little bit similar – doing very well in the Champions League, struggling in the league… we are not struggling, we are where Palace has always been, and we play the first time European football...
But yes, if you're not used to it, then it's unfair to compare to teams like [Man] City, like Arsenal, teams always playing European football. Their players are used to this rhythm. They know how to deal with the situation.
I think I mentioned it, it was our 43rd game at Old Trafford and they [Manchester United] had 30. Usually it's the opposite – and we were competitive. This gives me a good feeling.
And I heard an interview with Antonio Conte at Napoli, because they were struggling with some injuries as well. And he said it’s a little bit like a rat race: everybody wants to qualify for Europe, but it means more games. You need to get the money from European football, to get the attention from European football, but you need a bigger squad. You have to pay higher wages at the end. It costs more when qualifying, so that's a little bit irrational. But it is how it is.
I think last year City were struggling with many injuries. November, December they had big problems. I remember I called Pep in summer. We were interested in a player of theirs and he said: ‘no, no way, we need a bigger squad, because we struggled massively last year’.
And I think this is what also you can learn when you play the first time European football: to have a team that is ready to play. Just talking about us, it's a far way to g, but at the end of the season, we could have played 60 competitive games, and that's around 50 percent more than Palace have ever played.
That’s massive and that affects everything. But we want this, to be honest, and that's a challenge. And that's why I really appreciate that here in the club, everybody was really judging the situation knowing the circumstances, knowing the amount of games, seeing the effort of everyone.
We weren't really pleased with the situation in some weeks or months, but we had our explanations for it, so that's why we could really work – and we always work together in a very good way.
