Derry reveals pride for U23s and their aims for 2021

Halfway through Crystal Palace's first Premier League 2 season, Under-23s' manager Shaun Derry reflected on a testing challenge, how his side has adapted and the pride he feels at them doing so in his matchday programme column.

You can read what he had to say in full below, and buy official matchday programmes here.

Firstly, we signed a number of new recruits in the summer. We brought in six new players who have all contributed to the Under-23s in different ways. Ultimately, we’ve gone up into a different level of football – into Category 1. With that different level, you get tougher competition.

We’ve faced better players and come up against better teams, so we’ve had to raise our levels. At…