While the players may be struggling on the pitch, there is one Crystal Palace team that is going from strength to strength, and already has an award to prove it.

The Eagles communications department, in particular programme editor Luke Tugby, is enjoying the limelight after winning the Premier League programme of the year from the Midlands Programme Club.

Tugby joined the Palace family in April, taking over from Mike Sinnerton, having been a news reporter for a newspaper in Southampton.

Now, with long-serving boss Terry Byfield and assistant comms manager Jonathon Rogers, the trio are proving a formidable opponent.

Tugby said: “We have a great communications team here. We all get along really well and that’s been a big part of our success.”

He added: “It’s great to win any award at any level, but to pick one up so early in a Premier League season has given us all a real boost.

“The publication won programme of the year in the Championship last season, so I am pleased that we have carried on that good work.”

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Life in the Premier League: Adrian Mariappa scores against Fulham on October 21, the last time Palace found the net

Life has changed dramatically since promotion to the Premier League, and even more so now the world wants to know who the next manager is going to be.

But, despite the never-ending phone calls, Tugby is loving being an Eagle.

“The media attention has increased immeasurably and we’re inundated with interview requests for players, as well as phone calls from journalists from around the world asking for the latest on our search for a manager.

“Matchdays are also a different animal now. The manager and players are required to take part in pre and post-match TV interviews, which we have to oversee.

"We can have upwards of 120 reporters and photographers at Selhurst Park for any given match, so we have to arrange their accreditation and make them at home when they come here.

"Matchdays are always hectic now in that sense – there is never a small game in the Premier League these days – but those weekends are what we all live for here."

How the programme gets from a concept into the hands of the Palace faithful on a Saturday afternoon begins much earlier than you may suspect - in fact, preparation for the visit of West Ham United ono December 3 started almost immediately after the draw with Everton two weeks ago.

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Pre-planning: On the Monday after the Everton game, Luke Tugby starts work on the next Crystal Palace programme

Tugby said: "The planning for each programme starts more than a week in advance. I’ll draw up a pagination at the start of the week and  contact all of our outside contributors to give them individual deadlines for their articles.

"The finished product needs to be written, designed and sent off to our printers on Thursday’s at 5pm for weekend kick-offs and I make sure I proof read each page at least twice before it goes to print."

He added: "The next two home games present a different challenge for us, with West Ham and Cardiff visiting within the space of five days.

"Fortunately, we’ve had the international break ahead of these fixtures, so work on certain aspects of these editions started as early as the Monday after Everton to help us with the quick turnaround."

Tugby is the first to admit that he gets plenty of help in creating an award-winning product.

And it has been needed as the programme has been completely revamped over the summer, with the cover design causing a headache for Tugby in more ways than one.

"The design of the programme for me is probably the best I’ve seen in the Premier League so far," he said.

"The designers Rob [Deacon] and Ollie [Heard] worked so hard over the summer to completely revamp the look of it and we’ve had some great feedback from fans and visiting journalists based on what they’ve done.

"When we revealed our new badge in May, we also purchased our own club font, which is now used throughout the programme and gives it a completely fresh look and feel."

He added: "Ollie designed a number of different potential covers for the programme, which gave us a massive headache because they were all of such a high standard.

"Ultimately, I had to make the decision and it wasn’t a universally popular one I have to say, but every cover has looked fantastic this season and we’re all happy with it."

It helps having friends in high places, friends who are happy to put pen to paper for the Eagles, much in the same way they used to put the ball in the back of the net.

Tugby said: "In terms of the content, I was delighted to get Mark Bright on board for a regular column this season and I’ve been really impressed with his contributions.

"He really knows his stuff and is not afraid to voice his opinions on a range of footballing issues."

He added: "Gaining Premier League status has also allowed us to persuade some big name journalists and reporters to write guest columns for us, with the likes of Neil Ashton, Alan Parry, Ed Chamberlin and Sam Wallace already contributing this season – with plenty more in the pipeline."

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Opinionated: Mark Bright, with his pal Ian Wright, has a regular column in the Crystal Palace matchday programme