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Defender Marc Guehi paid tribute to Lee Carsley for helping him develop into an England international.
Carsley managed the Crystal Palace defender with the under-21s and handed him the armband before he stepped up to the senior side in 2022.
The interim boss looks set to reinstate Guehi to the side for Sunday’s Nations League game with Finland in Helsinki on Sunday after he was on the bench for Thursday’s defeat to Greece.
And the 24-year-old says he has a lot for which to thank Carsley, who has come under fire for his tactics in that Greek defeat.
“It’s always exciting to play for Lee, he’s definitely someone I respect a lot, someone who I have a lot of admiration for,” he said.
“What he’s done for me as a player, how he’s helped me in the younger ages and helped me improve.
“That’s because of him, that I was able to make that step up to the seniors as well. So it’s been fantastic.”
Guehi says the squad is determined to put Thursday night right and resurrect their hopes of finishing top in Group B2.
“The scrutiny I don’t pay too much attention to, just because I’m not aware too much of it,” he said.
“I know we have standards for ourselves in the camp and we try to set those for ourselves.
“I think it’s important that we put things into perspective. There are loads of senior players in the team and players in the team have dealt with defeats and difficult moments, so I think everyone’s just riding together and making sure that tomorrow we can go and get a reaction.”
Guehi himself had to deal with an unsettled summer.
Reaching the Euro 2024 final meant his break was shortened and he found himself at the centre of a transfer saga as Newcastle tried to sign him, with their final bid of £65million rejected by Palace.
He was thrown straight back into Premier League action without a pre-season to speak of and Palace have yet to win in their opening seven league games.
Asked how he would assess his campaign so far, he replied: “I’d say quite tough not having a pre-season, not having much of a break and going straight back into it.
“I kind of handled it as best as I can.
“The Euros was such an amazing experience, but just not quite getting there.
“And since then I’ve just tried to get my head down, tried to get to work.
“It’s been a tough start for us at Palace, but I think everyone’s pulling in the right direction to try and get ourselves back to where we want to be.”
