Crystal Palace's Jerome Thomas stands tall after his diving controversy

 
Ed Aarons7 March 2014

Jerome Thomas has vowed to put his diving shame behind him and help Crystal Palace beat Southampton tomorrow.

Thomas was fined by Tony Pulis after being booked for simulation in the draw against Swansea on Sunday.

Playing in his first game for a month having just returned from injury, the episode has left Thomas feeling more than a little embarrassed after his actions were criticised.

Yet having accepted his fine, the 30-year-old winger wants to draw a line under the incident.

“It’s been a frustrating week,” Thomas told Standard Sport.

“Obviously it can be hard to take because the incident has been all over the TV and on my Twitter feed. It’s nobody’s fault but my own and I’m big enough to accept that. The manager is fine with me. We had a talk and sometimes people make mistakes. All I can do is make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

He added: “The only bad thing was that it took away from the fact we got an important point. Hopefully I can put that behind me against Southampton. I need to be as positive as I was against Swansea, minus the dive.”

Thomas was one of former boss Ian Holloway’s first summer signings when he was snapped up on a free transfer from West Brom in July. However, a nagging groin injury has limited him to just three League starts.

“It’s been the most frustrating season of my career,” Thomas (above) admitted. “But the goals haven’t changed and the main thing is to help Palace stay in the Premier League. Now I’m fully fit hopefully the fans will start to see the best of me.

“Every day I’m working hard hoping to be in the starting team.”

Southampton’s visit is the first of five remaining home matches against sides occupying the top 11. And Thomas knows it is crucial not to show too much respect if Palace are to stay up. He said: “There’s always that ‘wow’ factor when you come up against the big teams but, hopefully, now everyone has adapted.”

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