Crystal Palace goalkeeper coach George Wood is delighted Julian Speroni has signed a new deal.
The 61-year-old is a huge admirer of Speroni, who has been with the South Londoners since 2004.
"I never thought Julian would leave but then the longer it went on then a few little doubts creep in," Wood told the South London Press. "I'm delighted. He is not only a Palace legend but a top, top bloke.
"He deserves to be at Palace. How he performed last season I would put him right up there in the top-six keepers in the Premier League.
"He got criticised at the start of the season for some of the goals going in from close range. That frustrated him but I said 'if you weren't so bloody good then you wouldn't be so close to them in the first place'.
"If I went through the whole season counting major mistakes he made then I can't get past three, if any. It's nit-picking, it really us.
"His ability to come off his line is first class - as good as anybody I've seen in the Premier League. People might laugh at me and say they disagree. But I watched all the games and didn't see a goalkeeper taking as many crosses as he did last season."
