Oliver Glasner has responded with characteristic good humour to a question about whether winning the UEFA Conference League would warrant Crystal Palace erecting a statue in his honour, according to Sky Sports.
The Austrian manager, who has guided Palace into European competition, was posed the question in a video published by Sky Sports, though the broadcaster did not disclose the specific content of his reply beyond characterising it as an amusing one. The clip drew attention online, in part because the underlying question — however lightly intended — speaks to something real about Glasner's standing at Selhurst Park.
Palace's participation in the Conference League represents a significant moment for a club that spent much of the last decade preoccupied with Premier League survival rather than continental ambition. For a support with a strong sense of its own identity, a deep run in European competition would carry weight well beyond the trophy itself.
The statue question, even as a throwaway, reflects how quickly the mood around the club has shifted under Glasner's management. Managers who deliver firsts — first European campaigns, first major silverware — tend to acquire a particular significance in a club's history regardless of what follows.
Glasner himself appears to be taking none of it too seriously, which is perhaps the appropriate response at this stage of a tournament that has not yet been won. Whether Palace can translate promise into something tangible in Europe remains to be seen.