Achieving such longevity and success in football is no easy task. And Gallas warned that it takes an enormous amount of mental strength and discipline to reach the pinnacle of the sport by maintaining peak performance over a sustained period.
“What Palmer did last season with Chelsea was just incredible,” he said. “I want to see him do it again. We’ve seen a lot of players have one season at the top level. The most difficult challenge for players is to stay in that level. To do it takes unbelievable commitment, huge sacrifices. You must live your life like a monk. You must be happy knowing that you’re going to have three weeks in the year to switch off, and then you have to work even harder than the year before. It’s not easy to do that. Not many players have the mental resources to deliver that kind of commitment.”
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WHAT NEXT FOR PALMER?
The pressure is on, but for a player of Palmer’s potential, the sky is the limit. He will be back in action on Saturday when Chelsea come up against West Ham in the Premier League.