Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner says his side must find a way to compete without Eberechi Eze after he was left out of the Europa Conference League clash with Fredrikstad on Thursday.
The Eagles managed to pick up a 1-0 win on their first-ever European outing, with Jean-Phillipe Mateta grabbing the only goal of the game.
But there was a distinct lack of quality in the side with Eze missing, something that may hinder them in the return leg in Norway.
Speaking after the game, Glasner said: “When you play against such a deep block you maybe need someone that can dribble past one or two players and score on his own.
“This is what Eberechi gives us. We have other profiles now, Ismaila is a runner, JP is in the box and Devenny. We tried to find them in the wings with many crosses into the box.
“Ebs will not play for us any more so it does not make sense to talk about him.
“It’s gone. It looks like wishing him all the best for the new club and for us it is about bringing more players in but they will not be allowed to play in the second leg.
“We knew that more or less this would happen so we have already been looking for weeks for the right replacements and we hope to get it done in 10 days time with more pressure.
“I will be involved but it is my job to prepare the team with for Nottingham Forest. We are unbeaten in this season until now and this is how we want to continue.”
Chairman Steve Parish was also quizzed after the game on Eze’s absence, with the Palace boss all but confirming his star man’s departure.
He said: “We have to move past it. He has been fantastic for us and we are pleased he will go on to fulfill his ambitions.
“We have to find other players to support the team and Oliver Glasner. We will bring in players, it is about finding the right players.
“I don’t think Oliver wants too many, I think it is the right number. It is about getting the balance right, we are a bit thin anyway. We are working on what we are working on and will look to get the quality we can.
“We are very lucky with Oliver because he is very involved, he is a very data driven manager. He is very specific about what he wants.
