Joel Ward: Crystal Palace could easily have beaten Sheffield United more emphatically

Joel Ward felt Crystal Palace could have won by more than 2-0 against Sheffield United yesterday.

The result leaves Crystal Palace 13th in the Premier League and they are mathematically safe from relegation with four game to play.

Speaking to Palace TV, Ward said: “In recent games, we’ve come against some of the top teams in the country and the world, so we’ve had to change the way we have played.

“Today was slightly different, we wanted to be a little more on the front foot and our start to the game summed that up. Straight from the off, we pressed high and that resulted in the early goal.

“Every game is different, you always have to feel your way into the game. A lot of it is instinct. It’s nice to be part of the attack and get forward and contribute to the attacking side. First things first, we have to make sure we are solid and keep the line high to be able to press high.

“The question for us now, is how high can we finish and how many points can we get on the board? We’ve given ourselves a great platform, it’s a great position to be in.

“The attacking boys are exciting players. They are able to create something out of nothing and it could have been five or six, if it wasn’t for some good blocks and some good saves. Hopefully in the next few games, they can continue to shine on the pitch and as a unit defensively we can continue to be the Palace that we are. Hard to break down, build from a solid foundation and then we’ve got some frighteningly good players up top to be able to make things happen.”