FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - DFB Cup - Final - RB Leipzig v Eintracht Frankfurt - Olympiastadion, Berlin, Germany - June 3, 2023 Eintracht Frankfurt coach Oliver Glasner during the match REUTERS/Annegret Hilse
(Reuters) - Newly-appointed Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner said he was no magician but he was confident that the club could finish the season in an improved position in the Premier League.
Palace, 15th in the standings and five points above the relegation zone, appointed Glasner after former manager Roy Hodgson stepped down on Monday.
"I'm no magician, I am not David Copperfield. It's a new experience. It's a challenge for me and a challenge for all of us," he told reporters on Friday ahead of his first match as Palace manager when they host Burnley on Saturday.
"The short-term goal is to get ourselves, myself and my staff, known. It is important (for) what we want to do in terms of playing football, how we can improve and finish the season with as many points as possible.
"The sporting director (Dougie Freedman) gives me big confidence that we can reach our vision," he added.
The former Eintracht Frankfurt manager said injured midfielders Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze will miss Saturday's match, but Eze had returned to practice after suffering a hamstring injury earlier this month.
"We will be (the) same squad that was at Everton. Nobody coming back but nobody out either," he said.
The Austrian said he hoped Palace fans, who held protests against club management earlier this month, would back the team.
"When you have bad times you need support in those times. I am sure fans will support the team immediately in this next game. I really am convinced that they will be supporting us until the end of the season," he said.
Palace have 25 points from 25 matches, 12 more than 19th-placed Burnley.
(Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
