With just a week-and-a-half left until the Eagles take on AFC Bournemouth, the squad has been hard at work in training, and McCarthy explained how the first few sessions compare with the current setup.
"[We were] making sure we weren’t getting close to anyone and as it’s eased up a little bit it’s been a lot better, to be honest. We were in certain groups [before], so we didn’t see all the lads but now we’re starting to see everyone and train together. It’s good to be back.
"All of us had been working. Obviously we didn’t know how long it was going to last, but we were constantly getting texts from the boys, the likes of Scotty [Guyett, Head of Sport Science and Strength & Conditioning], to make sure we’re keeping fit.
"Obviously we didn’t have a clue how long it would last and we were basically ready to go whenever it was [over]. We’ve had a couple of in-house games [in training] and it’s been a decent standard. We need to be ready."
McCarthy, who has been with the club since signing in the summer, then turned his attention to the remaining games. With Palace currently sitting 11th - just four points off six - the midfielder expressed a positive approach to the upcoming sprint:
"We’ll try and give it our best shot but we won’t look too far ahead - we’ll take it one game at a time. We’ve got a good squad at Palace, we’ve got a good manager. We’re obviously working away, looking up at the top end of the table and we need to make sure we finish strongly."
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