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Dean Henderson hopes Crystal Palace ‘finish the movie off’ for Oliver Glasner
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- Dean Henderson hopes Crystal Palace ‘finish the movie off’ for Oliver Glasner
Captain Dean Henderson has challenged Crystal Palace to "finish the movie off" when their Conference League final brings down the curtain on Oliver Glasner's glittering spell in south London.
The Austrian manager has already guided the Eagles to an historic FA Cup and a Community Shield, and on Wednesday night in Leipzig could leave Palace with the ultimate parting gift, should they beat Rayo Vallecano and require even more room in their trophy cabinet.
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Henderson inherited the armband following Marc Guehi 's January departure to Manchester City , and, despite admitting to feeling "depressed" during the post-FA Cup comedown, wants nothing more than to polish off a "sensational" script for his departing boss.
The Conference League final is Oliver Glasner's last match in charge of Palace (John Walton/PA)
"The togetherness in this group is phenomenal," said the England goalkeeper. "All the lads are pushing in the right direction for each other. All the staff at the training ground, everyone.
"It's just like a family club. We're all pushing towards the same end goal. Obviously, it would be a great way to finish the movie off for Glasner as well. Everyone wants that happy ending and everyone's working towards that.
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"It'd be unbelievable for him, wouldn't it? Obviously the best manager this club's ever had and to finish on such a high would be sensational."
Henderson was instrumental in Palace's 2025 FA Cup triumph over Manchester City, saving Omar Marmoush 's first-half penalty in their 1-0 win at Wembley, where they secured their first major silverware and a proper European campaign.
The passionate and popular skipper is candid about how he felt after that day, admitting: "The high to the low. I remember after the FA Cup final, three days after, I didn't want to get out of bed. I was like, 'what has gone on here?'
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"I swear. I don't know whether that was alcohol, or… but I actually think it was like, I felt depressed. It was mad. But I don't know why. I've never really spoken about it."
Henderson admitted Wednesday's European final has been playing on his mind during the final stages of the campaign.
"Naturally, you're thinking about it," he said. "Even for the last couple of weeks, you're probably thinking, 'let's try and win the final'. It's natural. No one speaks about it. No one speaks about it to each other. It's just about your individual battles, isn't it?"
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While it remains uncertain who will follow in Glasner's indelible footprints, when the credits finally roll on Palace's topsy-turvy campaign, Henderson and his fellow Premier League protagonists want to be holding a trophy."
He added: "When the tournament's got real, we've turned up haven't we? We've delivered some great performances and some good results, obviously, since we got out of the group stage.
"So, yeah, as I say, we're looking forward to it. We won't freeze. We'll play with no fear and we'll have confidence."
