Town defender Dara O’Shea has heaped praise on teammates Conor Townsend and Alex Palmer ahead of the Blues’ Premier League trip to Crystal Palace on Saturday.

Townsend and Palmer are both former teammates of O’Shea’s at West Bromwich Albion, with the three ex-Baggies all ending up back together at Portman Road for Town’s first season back in the Premier League.

Goalkeeper Palmer became the Blues’ final signing of the January transfer window on deadline day and has since become the designated number one having played in all five matches since his arrival.

Meanwhile, left-back Townsend has had to play second fiddle to Leif Davis since he was brought in from the Hawthorns in the summer, but has impressed in cup competitions and on his one league start at Aston Villa last month.

O’Shea says the attitude Townsend displays despite his minutes being limited is a testament to his character and that his recent performances have not come as a surprise to anyone in the Town squad.

“I’ve known Conor for a long time, we’re really close and our families are close,” he said. “He’s a great pro, Conor, you know what you’re doing to get with him every game.

“For him this season he probably came in knowing he wasn’t going to be first choice. His mentality towards that and how he’s approached training day in, day out getting around the lads has been great.

“The performances he’s put in recently have been amazing and that’s shown everybody else what we see day in, day out. That’s a credit to him, being ready when called upon is one of the hardest things to do when you haven’t been playing games so it’s amazing that he’s able to come in and put in the performances that he has.”

O’Shea was also pleased with the acquisition of Palmer having worked with him for a number of years in the West Midlands.

The 26-year-old said: “I was in the academy with him at West Brom so I’ve known him a long time. It’s been nice to have him back in and around me and all the lads have enjoyed having him too.

“He’s a confident lad and he likes to talk, we give him a bit of banter for that too that he doesn’t shut up at times. It’s nice to have someone come in straight away and be a part of the group like he has.

“His performances as well have been a breath of fresh air stepping straight into things and working well. I’m looking forward to playing with him for longer.

“It’s tough as a keeper to be given that opportunity, especially when you come through the academy to be given that shirt. Once he did, he took that with both hands and he kicked on.

“He’s been amazing for West Brom, he did really well for the club and he’s got his chance now in the Premier League. He’s really relishing it and looking forward to it.”

Town visit Selhurst Park on Saturday looking to claim their first Premier League win of 2025 and come into the contest having lost six of their last seven league matches.

O’Shea, who has lost all five of his own appearances against the Eagles, knows the challenge Oliver Glasner’s side will provide with the likes of Eberechi Eze, Ismaila Sarr and Eddie Nketiah among the attacking talent likely to start for a side who have won eight of their last 10 matches in all competitions.

“It’s going to be a tough game, going away to Selhurst Park is a tough ground to go to,” O’Shea said. “They’re in good form as well so they’re going to be right up for it.

“It’s probably going to be a game with not much in it, similar to the home fixture. It’s going to be a front-footed game, quite attacking and aggressive and it’s a game we’re looking forward to.

“They’ve got some really good one-v-one players, technically very good, really sharp and quick so it’s going to be a big task for us to keep them quiet. They’ve been doing so well recently so we’re trying to limit their strengths as best as possible.

“They’re big on one-v-ones so trying to get two-v-ones ourselves and try and counteract their main threats is going to be important for us.”

With 11 matches remaining, the Blues sit five points plus a significantly inferior goal difference behind Wolverhampton Wanderers in the race for survival.

While some performances have been encouraging, transferring those into results will be the key factor in whether Town can cut the deficit and beat the drop this season.

O’Shea said: “A win always helps no matter what stage of the season you’re in. Especially for us in the tough moment we’re in where we’ve been close in games but not getting the result is going to be big for us, that’s what we’ve been pushing towards. The confidence is still there in the group so I definitely think three points would kick us on a bit more.

“We’ve been close in previous games and haven’t been happy with the results so we’re trying to take as much learning from those games and take them into this game. Hopefully we put out a good full 90-minute performance and there’s not too many lessons we have to learn from it that way.

“It’s going to be tough game, we need to be at our best to get any results in this league and we know that. It’s a game we’re really forward to. Going away from home, this is the third away game in a row for us, we’re looking forward to it.”

O’Shea has previously played in two Premier League seasons and both ended in relegation with West Brom and Burnley.

Looking to avoid an unwanted hat-trick, the Republic of Ireland international maintains full belief that the Blues will still be a top flight side come August.

“I don’t think it seems like that,” he said when quizzed on relegation. “At the moment we’re in that position but nothing’s written in the stars. I don’t think we’re going to get relegated and the lads think that too.

“For me it’s just a matter of time before we start moving up as we’ve been close. The last thing I want is to get another one, I definitely feel confident in the group that we can turn things around.

“It’s not easy. It’s so hard to stay in the league in the first year you get promoted.”

He added: “For me it’s quite strange because I’m in the same position as I have been before but it doesn’t feel like I’m in that position. The whole club and belief around the group isn’t one of that we’re in a relegation battle and things are piling up on top of us.

“That’s important for us to keep that same mindset throughout because there’s going to be pressure put on us if we don’t get points on the board. The easiest way to keep pressure off us is to get points on the board and stop that mindset.

“It’s not a nice place to be and I’ve been there twice before so I’m trying to use all the experience that I’ve had in these situations to add to the group. A lot of the other lads too have been in similar scenarios.

“It’s tough, it’s not easy, things have to change and as long as we go into each week with the same mindset and mentality that we’re pushing towards having a positive result and keep doing things right. That will put us in good stead coming into the end of the season.”

Photo: TWTD

Linkboy13 added 18:56 - Mar 7 I think the season has gone on long enough to know what we are going to get tomorrow plenty of hard graft but not much quality. The spirit in the camp is surprisingly very good which is a testament to the popularity of Keiran McKenna at the club.
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