But the football Palace were playing was leading them to success, and much of it was down to the hours put in at Mitcham.
“It got very dirty - we were competitive in training,” says Bright. “There were always scuffles breaking out, a bit of overzealousness, but nobody used to think anything of it.”
Manager Steve Coppell used to face the players off in games of ‘North v South’, and unsurprisingly it got the blood boiling.
“That got a bit violent! There were ‘oles’ and backheels and nutmegs – but everyone looked out for each other. We had a great team spirit.”