Tommy Elphick has called Crystal Palace a “dangerous team” ahead of Bournemouth’s Premier League tie with the Eagles on Saturday.
Elphick took today’s press conference as Gary O’Neil was ill with a virus, however he will still be involved in tomorrow’s game at the Vitality Stadium.
There is no updated team news from the side that lost 2-0 to Chelsea on Tuesday and saw Lloyd Kelly return, Elphick confirmed: “We’re as we were for the Chelsea game”
“There will be a few late calls and hopefully a few coming back as well”.
Crystal Palace travel to the Vitality Stadium after a 3-0 loss to Fulham, with Nathan Tomkins and Tyrick Mitchell picking up red cards and being suspended for the trip to Bournemouth.
When asked about Saturday’s opponents, Elphick said: “They’re a dangerous team they’ve got some really top players and some real individual quality that’s right up there with the best of the league”
“They’re a real rich group of high individual quality. They’ve obviously changed quite a bit under Viera they’re playing a different style to what they were before, they're such a dangerous team that we have to pay the utmost respect to”
The game will also be the first home game since Gary O’Neil was appointed as permanent first team head coach and the first under new owner Bill Foley, who said earlier this week in interviews that he’s targeting European football in the next five seasons and has insisted that Bournemouth “are not going to be relegated”, despite the Cherries being just three points above the drop zone.
Elphick said: “It certainly feels like he’s in it for the long haul, he’s stated that. I believe the manager has had a lot of good conversations with him.”
“All the hall marks of what we need going forward and the intentions of what we need going forward are certainly there at the moment”.