pairs

Glasner congregated all his players and staff at the club’s training ground just before noon on Friday.

What arrived did not necessarily shock the players, they all had to have been living under a rock not to know their manager was very likely leaving in the summer.

The timing, though, got tongues wagging. Why now?

Prior to his announcement to the players, his captain Guehi had confirmed his intention to join Manchester City.

Glasner is one of Guehi’s biggest supporters, he will continue to be when they part ways.

It was always the Austrian’s intention for him and his captain to leave at the end of the season, but with Guehi’s departure thrust forward it is, perhaps, no surprise that he has taken the decision to confirm his intention to go now, too.

Nevertheless, the cracks between Glasner and the Palace hierarchy began showing in the summer.

The Austrian coach had been vocal in his frustration at the lack of transfer incomings. The club signed only back-up left-back Borna Sosa and number two keeper Walter Benitez before the final week of the window, by which point the season was already under way.

They targeted a move for Sporting defender Ousmane Diomande, but the club never got close to reaching an agreement.

Glasner was steadfast in his belief that the club should capitalise on last season’s euphoric FA Cup triumph by building a squad capable of pushing up the Premier League, but also one that could cope with the demands of playing European football for the first time.

Eventually, Palace signed Yeremy Pino in a deal worth £26m while young players Christantus Uche and Jaydee Canvot also arrived.

But Uche and Canvot have hardly played, with Glasner largely relying on the same squad as he did last season with minimal rotation, a squad that lost key player Eberechi Eze to Arsenal.

Palace started the season brightly, with many tipping a push for a Champions League place.

But Glasner feared trouble was round the corner. The coach is adept at juggling domestic and European football – he won the Europa League with Eintracht Frankfurt in 2022 after all.

Some behind the scenes believe his apprehension to rotate the team provided a clear indication that it was his intention not renew his contract.

“It’s been like he has been getting his pound of flesh from the players because he knows he is leaving anyway,” said one source.

Eventually Glasner’s concerns came to fruition. They are currently nine matches without a victory, their latest defeat arriving last Saturday against non-league Macclesfield as their efforts to retain the FA Cup came to an embarrassing end.

They are currently 13th in the Premier League heading into this weekend’s game at Sunderland.

Preventing Guehi from joining Liverpool in a deal worth £35m in the summer did represent somewhat of a victory for Glasner, who was adamant all along that the defender should not be sold even if it meant the club would lose him for nothing this summer.

Although denied by Glasner, a number of sources have indicated that the 51-year-old would have considered his position immediately had Palace sold Guehi in the summer.

Even after Glasner informed Parish of his intention to step down over dinner in October, you sensed Palace had not given up hope of somehow persuading their manager to U-turn.

For example, the club record signing of Brennan Johnson is said to have been driven by the Austrian.

Equally, Parish is understood to have played a key role in ensuring Johnson arrived early in the January window to deliver for his manager, which many interpreted as an attempt at trying to convince Glasner that the club were prioritising strengthening the squad with his imprint.

That said, Palace have been active in identifying potential candidates to replace Glasner in the summer.