Oliver Glasner keeps Crystal Palace guessing about the future as fixtures pile up

Despite their failure to qualify directly to the last 16, the mood at Palace remains upbeat.

The Eagles begin their FA Cup defense at non-league Macclesfield Stadium on January 10 – and former England defender Joleon Lescott believes Glasner will be able to use his young players to help him juggle the demands of competing in Europe and at home.

“They played Macclesfield away in the FA Cup, and the play-offs in that competition, maybe they can play in those games and give some of the experienced players a rest,” Lescott told TNT Sports.

Against KuPS, Glasner started 16-year-old Joel Drakes-Thomas, Dean Pinamar, 17, and George King, 18 – and the academy trio did not look out of place when they made their debut.

However, there remains an air of uncertainty at Selhurst Park.

Glasner is about to enter the final six months of his contract, and the Palace hierarchy have become increasingly concerned about losing a manager whose shares have soared in recent months.

Talks over a new contract have been ongoing since March but there is no sign that the 51-year-old Austrian, who was the mastermind behind Eintracht Frankfurt’s Europa League win in 2021-22, is close to committing to his future.

Indeed, Glasner said before Thursday’s match: “I don’t think for a second about my future. It’s not important right now.”

In addition, there are still doubts over the futures of Mark Guehi and Adam Wharton, both of whom are wanted at other clubs.