Everything crystal clear in Delaney’s Palace wonderland

Sometimes life moves so fast it’s difficult to appreciate its highlights when they roll around. That’s exactly how Damien Delaney feels about his whirlwind year.

From the joy of promotion to the Premier League, to the challenge of marking some of the best players in the world, and starting for the Republic of Ireland away to Germany, the Corkman must still be dizzy from his tumble down the rabbit hole into this great, new wonderland.

It is certainly a long way from the dark days of three years ago when a blood clot in his thigh briefly threatened to end his career. Sympathy gushed his way back then, but the burly defender has been forced to scrap for everything he has earned since – on and off the pitch.

So the 32-year-old can afford to laugh when people suggest he is lucky to be a regular for Crystal Palace. Not that he has the time to reflect on his quite remarkable journey, which produced more pitfalls than a James Bond movie, as stopping still is a sure recipe for disaster.

Instead, Delaney is simply taking everything in his stride. It is a professional attitude that new Palace boss Tony Pulis wants to see when staring into the eyes of his players ahead of today’s crunch clash with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. There can be no room for fear at this level.

But if you believe the pundits – or the bookmakers – then the team sitting second from bottom in England’s top flight has little chance of outwitting Jose Mourinho’s roster of international stars.

“It’s funny because one of the first things the gaffer [Pulis] asked in his first training session was if anyone had a long throw. You just had to laugh, but that’s the way he is and he is not going to apologise about it or change it – and why should he?” said Delaney when quizzed on Ian Holloway’s successor.

“He is a guy who has been promoted from every division and never been relegated, so it is a huge boost for us to know that he has what it takes. His record speaks for itself as he got Stoke to the FA Cup final and into Europe and I didn’t hear many people complain about the style of play when they were getting that far.

“I couldn’t care what anybody thinks about the way we play as long as we are still in the Premier League on May 13. We can’t all play like Barcelona, but we can go toe-to-toe with teams and if they are not up for a fight then we believe that we can give them a real fright and pick up some crucial points.”

It is hardly a secret when Delaney reveals that sticking close to the likes of Luis Suarez and Wayne Rooney is his equivalent of mission impossible.

Still, there can be no giving up and it is why Delaney will never feel comfortable at this level. When that day comes the sense of wonderland will disappear and he will be left with nothing but scars and regrets.

The same logic is enforced within the Palace dressing room about how they treat their opponents, how they perform on the pitch and how collecting memorabilia for their mansions is not part of the job spec of a professional footballer.

“We had a discussion amongst ourselves about swapping jerseys with players on other teams. Basically, we all agreed that it sent out a message that we wouldn’t be here in the Premier League next year to face the same players,” said the former Cork City defender.

“If you are asking a player for their jersey, you are putting them up there on a pedestal. We should have the mindset that we’ll be back here again next year and make them want to ask for our jerseys because we have played so well against them.

“It’s different if you are playing against a good friend, like I might swap a jersey with an Irish lad who I am close with. But getting a jersey from Suarez or Rooney is just going to be framed on your wall and that is the message you are sending out when swapping with them on the pitch.”

If there was one jersey Delaney would have been excused of bundling into his gear bag, it was that of Mesut Ozil after the diminutive Germany playmaker made his World Cup qualifying experience in Cologne both humbling and memorable following a 3-0 defeat.

But, for someone who was used sparingly by Giovanni Trapattoni, Delaney must feel, now that he is a Premier League starter, that the appointment of Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane – who signed him for Ipswich Town – can help him add to his eight senior caps?

“One of the things I’ve learned throughout my career is that it doesn’t matter what I think, the big decisions are not up to me. So my opinion of whether I should play for Ireland doesn’t matter, it comes down to the manager,” stated Delaney.

“I haven’t spoken to anyone yet about the new set-up. I had an ankle problem that kept me out of the games against Latvia and Poland, but I’m playing this game long enough to know that you can’t take anything for granted. You just have to keep on going, game by game.”

As always, Delaney is focusing on what he can do today in order to still be doing it tomorrow, and remain in his very own wonderland.