Glasner relaxed before Crystal Palace's Conference League final against Rayo Vallecano

Oliver Glasner has declared Crystal Palace calm and ready for Wednesday’s UEFA Conference League final against Rayo Vallecano, with the Austrian confirming his squad completed tactical preparation last week and that the day before the match will be deliberately low-key. The game, which kicks off at 21:00 local time, is the first European final in the history of both clubs — and Glasner’s last in charge of Palace.

The 50-year-old’s departure from Selhurst Park was confirmed before the final, capping a tenure in which he delivered both a Community Shield and an FA Cup. He was measured but honest about what victory would mean.

“When you see how hard everyone worked throughout the season — the players, the staff, the people at the club — it would mean a lot. It would be a fantastic ending to the season. But it’s sports, football, you never know what will happen. It’s to be enjoyed.”

Glasner described a pre-match schedule built around rest and looseness rather than last-minute drilling. “Everything we haven’t done now, anything we haven’t transported from the past week, we can’t do tomorrow,” he said. “We started with the tactical meetings last week — showing the players videos of Vallecano when they played a back three, back four, how they play with lots of possession, without lots of possession.”

He added that his favourite part of matchday preparation is watching his players unwind. “My favourite part is the 30 minutes when they play head tennis. I watch them and it is like kids playing. It’s so fun. It gives them a good feeling of how the group is. I hope that tomorrow they are laughing, not calm and introverted. Then we have the best chance if they are themselves.”

Glasner was also asked about the remarkable concentration of successful managers from the Basque Country — Unai Emery, Mikel Arteta, Andoni Iraola — and Iñigo Pérez from neighbouring Pamplona, who coaches Rayo Vallecano on the other side of Wednesday’s final. The Austrian was characteristically dry in his response.

“I will go there this summer to find out, to see what they are eating. It must be something good. They are clearly doing something good — also the clubs are playing international football, Athletic Club, Real Sociedad. But perhaps Yeremy [Pino] knows better, he is Spanish.”

On the fitness front, concerns over midfielder Adam Wharton and defender Chris Richards eased after both trained as normal on Tuesday morning. Glasner stopped short of guaranteeing either a starting place, however.

“The good thing is that they were available today. They have 36 hours between training and the game. The medical department are working hard. In the end, I will only select players I believe to be 100% fit. I will talk tomorrow morning with them. If I have concern, I will choose someone else in the XI — but it’s positive they could train without big issues. Everyone has some pain at this stage of the season.”