Joel Ward hopeful of Crystal Palace contract extension
BY ANDREW MCSTEEN
Joel Ward is hoping to extend his Crystal Palace stay – with the long-serving defender set to be a free agent at the end of June.
The 31-year-old right-back joined the Eagles from Portsmouth in the summer of 2012. Ward has made 262 appearances for the SE25 outfit and put in a man-of-the-match performance in Wednesday’s 0-0 draw against Manchester United.
The longest-serving Palace player must think the decision – to extend his stay – is easy for the club?
“We shall see, we’ll go from there and hopefully it will all work out,” said Ward. “Ultimately, I can only control what I am doing with the playing side of things and the hierarchy will take care of the rest.
“It is there and hopefully we can get something sorted in the near future.”
Ward believes a return to basics has pushed Crystal Palace to look towards a top-half Premier League finish this season.
A 0-0 draw against Manchester United last night came after the same score against Fulham on Sunday and a 2-1 win at Brighton last week, to see the Eagles go three unbeaten in the league and find themselves just three points off 10th place.
“If you look at the last three games the way in which we’ve performed as a unit and a team, it started from the front to the back and we’ve been hard to break down,” said Ward, who played in all three games. “We made sure we got back to basics and I think that has reflected in the performances and the results.
“The fluidity was there. We had some really nice patterns of play that we have been working on and compared to the last couple of games, we certainly were a little bit more fluid in the game with our possession, getting out from the back through midfield and causing them some issues and, unfortunately, we were unlucky not to snatch three points.
“It is always good to get a run of games, the more you do that the more comfortable you get in the team and knowing one another. We’ve got a lot of depth and a lot of quality in the squad so whoever comes in knows their job and knows what the team is about. That is a foundation and culture we’ve got at the club.
“Of course, confidence is massive and once you start to put a couple of results together – which is so difficult in the Premier League – you build on that momentum and that is massive for a club like us.”
The United game saw an impetus and urgency they had maybe lacked in previous games, highlighted by fan group, Holmesdale Fanatics, draping a banner at the Eagles’ Beckenham training ground, questioning their mentality.
But for Ward, he is only concentrated on improving himself – and the team – this season.
“What we can affect is what happens on the pitch as much as we can and the work that we do Monday to Saturday so we focus on in-house. The noise around it and outside of that we can’t control. It is ultimately noise at the end of the day.
“There is no easy game in the Premier League. You look at Manchester United or Fulham and Brighton, it is always a tough day at the office regardless of who you’re coming up against. The likes of Harry Kane, Son, Bale and those boys – like Manchester United – are formidable but we take the confidence and momentum from these games and hopefully we can put in the same kind of performance and come away with some more points.”
PHOTO: KEITH GILLARD