Oliver Glasner admits his side are struggling to cope with the amount of games ahead of Sunday’s trip to St James’ Park
08:41, 02 Jan 2026Updated 11:25, 02 Jan 2026
Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner saw his side draw 1-1 with Fulham(Image: Javier Garcia/Shutterstock)
Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner admits his side is in ‘survival mode’ ahead of Sunday’s Premier League match with Newcastle United at St James’ Park.
The game is the Magpies first of 2026 and is the first of nine matches Eddie Howe’s men must negotiate in January, with February already looked to be almost as busy.
However, while United signed off 2025 with a 3-1 win at Burnley on Tuesday night, Palace didn’t play their week 19 fixture until last night, when they were held to a 1-1 draw by Fulham at Selhurst Park.
Jean-Philippe Mateta opened the scoring for the Eagles, but Tom Cairney cancelled out his header with an impressive 20-yard strike in the 80th minute.
Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson then produced a fine one-handed save from Timothy Castagne in injury time to prevent Fulham from completing a comeback.
Palace are now without a win in their previous six games, and must travel north to face Newcastle on Sunday after a bruising run of results.
“It is always important to stay humble and respect every single point,” Glasner said after the Fulham draw.
“With all the circumstances, we played well when the mind and legs were fresh, but in the end, it was a question of time when we conceded.
“We are a little bit in survival mode. We have to accept that. We have never played a team with less rest than than us. Even Fulham had one day more. We played on Sunday, they played on Saturday.
“We play Newcastle next on Sunday, and we have two days to rest and they have four. And we can see the physical difference. I am not complaining, just talking about the reality.
“Right now, it is not possible to perform at our top level.”
Palace are set to receive a boost with the imminent arrival of Brennan Johnson from Tottenham. The Wales international was not included in Spurs’ squad for their match against Brentford on New Year’s Day.
The north London club accepted a £35million offer from Palace earlier this week, although it is remains to be seen whether any deal would go through in time for his to feature against Newcastle.
Glasner added: “Please respect this because for me it is a respect not to talk about players who are under contract at a different club.
“I wouldn’t like that someone is talking about my player – even if he wasn’t in the squad for us – so it is a respect not to talk about a deal until it is finally done. I cannot confirm a deal but as soon as there is a deal done, then believe me, you will know about it.”
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