Richards: Results will eventually go our way

Chris Richards feels Crystal Palace must continue to build on recent displays, rather than rue their results, when Brentford visit Selhurst Park on Saturday.

The Eagles – winless in eight – host a Brentford side who themselves have lost their last four Premier League matches.

But the statistic does not tell the full story, Richards feels, with Palace producing strong performances in that spell against sides who have impressed in Europe in recent months, including West Ham, Liverpool and Manchester City.

The defender-turned-midfielder said of recent displays: “I think that's what gives us confidence going forward.

“Even though results might not have gone our way, I think performances have, and that's a real positive point of view to have. Hopefully, at some point, they'll turn around, and those losses and ties will turn into wins.

“That’s the only thing that's going to get us through this form: sticking together. We know we’ve had some good performances, but just some unlucky results. We know that if we continue the performances, the results at some point will eventually go our way.”

One such moment of misfortune saw Palace – after creating some decent openings against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday evening – concede a late penalty kick to lose their most recent fixture.

Richards reflected: “I think we were very unlucky with the penalty at the end, but we were in the game for the whole time.

“We may have missed out on the point or even three, but again, we’re trying not to look too much backwards, and trying to move forwards, and hopefully collect points [against Brentford].

“I try to find the positive in every negative. I think we played really well [at Chelsea], but again, I'm probably my biggest critic, so of course there are some negatives that I'd like to work on.

“I try not to let it weigh too much on me because we have a game coming up. I'm glad to have been on the pitch during the game [on Wednesday]. I'm glad we played well for so long, but were unlucky with the result.”

During the course of the match, referee Michael Salisbury accidentally showed Richards a red card before clarifying he meant to show a yellow, a moment which was laughed off by player and match official alike.

“I was nervous,” Richards admitted. “I was like: ‘hopefully VAR will get me out of this one!’ I was nervous, so I'm glad the ref laughed it off!

“I think my parents were the most worried about it. They came over for a Christmas game and they thought I was going to get sent off early! I'm glad that it was just the yellow.

“Of course, refs get a lot of stick, but I think it was good to see that they're also human.”

Although Palace come up against out-of-form opposition in Brentford, Richards feels that will play to neither side’s advantage.

The American said: “They're just hungry as we are. We all need points, so I think it's not going to be as easy as people think.

“It’s a [London] derby, so that means more, but I think what makes it mean even more is how close we are in the table.

“I think any way to get a few points above a rival, or to get a few points above any opponent, is always great. We're going to have to fight.”