Joel Ward says there is "real excitement" at Crystal Palace following their summer overhaul and bright start to the season.
The Eagles travel to Burnley this weekend unbeaten in six and off the back of two straight wins, including victory at Manchester City before the international break.
During that break, the squad also watched on as Conor Gallagher capped his fine start to the season with a senior England debut.
Gallagher is part of a wave of new, younger players at Palace this season who have brought depth and dynamism to Patrick Vieira’s squad. Something rather new for Ward.
"There’s competition within every position out there and there’s some real excitement around the place in terms of players coming in, coming out and coming on during the game," said Ward.
"We’ve got a lot of strength in depth which we haven’t always had.
"Looking in the past years we haven’t been able to turn and look to players who are going to come on and change the game or shore up the game. To have that now is a luxury."
Asked about Gallagher’s international bow after four goals and two assists in 10 games for Palace, Ward said: "It was fully deserved, he has been a bright spark within the team and there’s been some outstanding performances so far this season."
