“We’re in the sport of football and we want to perform,” he said in his pre-match interview. “We want to make sure we end the season well. We were unfortunate not to get a result against Arsenal against Tuesday, but we’d like to upset the party here today.
“You live for these sort of moments: playing games and having the fans back in. Ultimately, we just go out there and make sure we give a good account of ourselves, and give ourselves a good chance to do so.”
Ward praised the impact of Roy Hodgson, as the Palace manager prepares for his final match in charge of the Ealges.
“It has [been a strange week],” he said. “When you’ve been around someone who has left their mark on world football, it’s obviously a strange thing to see them stepping back. But what a career he has had.”
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