Nathan Ferguson has told his Crystal Palace teammates not to be too disappointed following their 3-0 defeat to Spurs at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Boxing Day. Ferguson, who made his Palace debut by coming off the bench for Tyrick Mitchell in the 82nd minute, said despite the defeat his teammates should try and not let the result get them too downhearted.
Nathan Ferguson said: “We started off well,” the full-back explained to PalaceTV after the game. “After they got their first goal and then their second goal in close proximity it didn’t help at all. You can’t be too disappointed because of the circumstances. We played well, we now have to look forward to the next game against Norwich.”
Ferguson’s Palace debut has been a long-time coming, with the 21-year-old having made the decision to join the club from West Bromwich Albion 17 months ago.
Nathan Ferguson added: “I feel like I’ve prepared so much that my body couldn’t be filled with nerves. I’ve been waiting, watching and training for so long that today just felt like another game. I’m very happy though to finally say I’m a Palace player. Coming on makes me feel like I’m a proper Palace player. It’s great to be back on the pitch, back in front of the fans and be back in front of the Eagles as well. There’s a lot of love towards the fans, they’ve been so nice to me ever since I’ve been here for a year and a half now.”
Ferguson also spoke about how the team’s preparations for their match at Spurs had been affected by Covid-19, with members of the playing group and manager Patrick Vieira having to isolate after returning positive tests on Christmas Day.
Nathan Ferguson explained: “It was crazy because we were meant to stay over in a hotel. We weren’t too sure if the game was going to go ahead, so we had to wake up early to see if it was. A lot of us had to travel hours to get in. I travelled for an hour and 20 minutes to get to the hotel. It wasn’t the best preparation, but there are no excuses. If we would’ve won the game we wouldn’t have been making excuses.”
Palace don’t have long to dwell on the result against Spurs as they return to action tomorrow (Tuesday) in a home match against Norwich. Assistant manager Osian Roberts is expected to be leading the team on the day with Vieira still isolating, with the Eagles hoping to pick up just their second win in eight matches.
