In the space of a week, the feelings after our first two league games couldn’t be more different. After a fantastic win away to Leeds in our first game, we let ourselves down at home to Barnsley on Saturday.

Welcome back to my first blog of the 2010-2011 season.

No footballers enjoy pre-season and I am no different! It’s a test both physically and mentally, as you have to be tough enough to push yourself and get as fit as possible.

Well we have come to the end of another season and just like the first team, my season has been very up and down.

To say I was a bit surprised at playing in the Reserve game against Crawley last week is a bit of an understatement. We report in for training at 8.45am every day, and we came in no different on Thursday.

This week in training we have been lucky enough to work with Assistant Manager Dougie Freedman and former Palace defender Tony Popovic, as they are both currently doing their coaching badges.

It has been a while since I have written a blog and being honest it’s because I have been bitterly disappointed about a few things concerning me and my career. A small break from the blogs has done me good and I am looking forward to writing more for the remainder of the season.

On Saturday we continued our excellent form with another win, this time away to Portsmouth. We should have beaten them earlier in the season at home so we were desperate to get one over them this time.

Last week turned out to be somewhat of an anti-climax with our Youth cup game away to Hull being called off. We had prepared really well and everything was put in place for us to go and get a positive result.

There is no getting away from what was announced at the Club last week. My phone didn’t stop all Tuesday night as friends and family tried to find out what was going on and to check if the administration would be affecting me.

Unfortunately our league game away to Norwich City on the weekend got called off again due to a frozen pitch. On the Thursday afternoon they told us that the game was 90% likely to go ahead, so to find out on Friday morning that the game was off was very disappointing. It seems like we haven’t had a proper competitive match in a long time and with our youth cup game just around the corner, it’s not ideal preparation.

After finding out our league game against Southampton at home was called off Gary Issott managed to arrange another game for us instead against Leyton Orient on Saturday morning.

Firstly I wish you all a happy new year and hope that you all had a good Christmas. I hope 2010 is good for you all.

It’s been another very quiet week at the training ground as we had no game on Saturday and had nothing to train towards. We started the week on Monday down at the Dome with Antonio Falanga taking us for a really good session.

Last week we beat Bristol City 3-2 in the FA Youth Cup which was important for us. It was a great experience for us to play at Selhurst, and one that was made much more enjoyable because of the result.

Firstly I can update you on the leg injury I sustained against Kingstonian last week. I am pleased to report that it cleared up pretty quickly, and hasn’t stopped me from doing too much.

The reason for this week’s blog being late is because there has been a lot going on recently, and finding time to sit down and type this out has been difficult.

I’ve had to revise for my driving theory test, there’s been a lot of college work to get done and I played in the Surrey Senior Cup on Monday in which we beat Kingstonian FC 3 – 2.

Last week in a friendly game we beat FK Tolyatti from Russia 4-0. It was by far our best friendly performance of the season, against a hard working and intelligent Tolyatti team.

During the international breaks the training ground is always a bit eerie and quiet. The first team have had a few days off, so it has only been the youth team in. It’s strange around the place but it does make it easier for us apprentices.

Academy Match: Southampton v Crystal Palace
Last weekend saw me make my Youth team debut in a 4-1 win away at Southampton. I came on for the last 15 minutes – by the time I came on the game was pretty much over but it was nice to be involved in such a good victory.

Last week we visited BreezeYoga in Beckenham for the first time. Breeze is literally up the road from the training ground, so we are very lucky to have such a good facility so close to us.

I have now had four weeks of hard training under my belt, injury free, and I’m starting to feel a lot better about things. My fitness is improving and I’m getting back into the swing of things.

Life as an Apprentice is much tougher than everyone thinks. The stereotypical view that all we do is turn up for training, play some football, go home and get paid ridiculous amounts of money is completely wrong. Apprentice life isn’t easy.

This week I returned to training and managed to get a full week under my belt. I have been working non-stop over the past couple of weeks in the gym to improve my core strength, so it’s nice to be outside with the lads again. Hopefully all the hard work I’ve put in will pay off and it will prevent any further niggles.

The transition from Schoolboy to Apprentice has been interesting and personally quite tough. There’s a lot of information to take in, as well as getting used to training every day instead of just 3 times a week.

Welcome to my first blog of the season. Firstly I will introduce myself. My name is Dan Pringle and I am currently a first year apprentice at Crystal Palace Football Club.