GLASNER’S CLEAR ON FREEDMAN RUMOURS

BY

OLIVER GLASNER will only worry about the prospect of sporting director Dougie Freedman leaving Crystal Palace for Manchester

United if he says something to his face.

Freedman (below) is in the Old Trafford club’s sights not long after Glasner joined Palace to work alongside the highly-rated Scottish chief.

But Glasner (above) is relaxed about the situation and confident they will be plotting success at Palace together for “a long time”.

The Eagles boss said: “I was nine months at home (before joining Palace). I could read so many rumours about myself.

“If I always would have worried about it, it would have been tough times.

“If Dougie tells it to me face-to-face, then I believe it. Until then, we plan this year, we plan next season together.

“No (the links do not disrupt my start). It shows me what I was thinking – that here is a great sporting director, a great person.

“It shows he has a lot of technical qualities, scouting players he knows all over the world. If there are these rumours it shows maybe other clubs see it the same way.

“We didn’t speak about the squad next year. I wanted to get to know the players who are here. But we will start in the next week. The feeling that I have is that we plan the squad for next year together and we will work together for a long time.”

During Glasner’s nine months at home, his first extended break from football, he enjoyed being able to do “normal things” like celebrate his daughter’s birthday or go skiing in his homeland.

But the Austrian is now equally pleased to be back in football and adjusting to his new life in London – though there were some first-day nerves to overcome ahead of his encouraging debut win against Burnley.

“I entered Selhurst Park, I was the last one because always I have to go to the toilet when the players go out,” he smiled. “I was a little bit nervous, of course.”

Glasner will soon have his own apartment too, which he hopes to move into when Palace return from next week’s training camp in

Spain where they will play a friendly against Norway’s Bodo/glimt.

Until then, he will continue living in a hotel.

But the 49-year-old, who described next opponent Luton’s rise as a “Cinderella story”, said: “An apartment is better than a hotel.

“But the most important thing is three points against Luton. Then I could stay four more weeks in a hotel, I don’t care about it.”