Romain Esse might have envisioned conjuring something special against former club Millwall at Selhurst Park. Yet by half-time, he had endured a nightmare, unleashed the fury of Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner, and suffered humiliation from the away supporters at Selhurst Park.

Glasner had more than seen enough. He wrestled his jacket off and threw it to the floor in anger after a poor Esse pass broke down a Palace attack in the first half. The Millwall fans had taunted him after another error. "What a waste of money," they sang. Substituted at the break, almost everything the 20-year-old did seemed to go wrong. It was a brutal, humbling evening for him.

This had been an opportunity for redemption, having induced the ire of his manager on the final day of last season against Liverpool by losing possession deep in the opposition's half, breaking down a move which eventually led to conceding an equaliser. That afternoon, he was substituted on and off again in a moment of embarrassment.

The pair spoke the following day and Esse acknowledged and appreciated what his manager said, and has since worked hard in training, being inquisitive in an attempt to improve.

But this time, he experienced a different type of humiliation. Instead of taking his chance, the winger has fallen further into the mire. There were too many poor touches in the final third, combined with misplaced passes. One excellent through ball brought gasps from the crowd but that was all he could claim in his favour.

As disappointing as this performance was against a depleted Championship side in a third- round Carabao Cup tie which Palace eventually won on penalties after Ryan Leonard cancelled out Chris Richards' opener in a 1-1 draw, and as little patience as Glasner will have with his former Millwall man, there are some mitigating circumstances -- though Esse cannot hide behind them as excuses.

Lambeth-born Esse has scarcely featured since a £12million move from Palace's south London rivals in January which could rise to £14m. In those fleeting appearances, he has shown flashes of talent but also enough to be frustrated by. For Millwall, he played 66 times, scoring seven times, but more than half of those appearances came from the bench. He was inexperienced in the second tier of English football but is even more so in the top flight.

It was a tough ask to expect him to thrive in an unforgiving environment, in the fierceness of a derby with the added pressure of playing against his former club. Minutes have been hard to come by with just 258 since joining eight months ago. It is hardly conducive to success. Glasner did not even turn to him for the UEFA Conference League play-off matches with Fredrikstad.

During Esse's time at Millwall, Palace noticed enough to move to sign him earlier than they had initially wanted. The club's then-sporting director Dougie Freedman was reminded of the raw talent he had spotted and subsequently developed in Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise, the two combined leaving Palace for fees in excess of £100m in consecutive summers.

Concerned that they might miss out due to an anticipated high level of interest in acquiring him, Palace signed Esse in January this year. Millwall's plan had always been to develop him into a saleable asset and they were duly compensated.

Freedman's departure in March is unlikely to have helped Esse, who had loan interest from the Championship in the summer but was informed by Palace that he was likely to be given opportunities to play and told to be patient.

"It's about consistency," Glasner said in his press conference before the Millwall game. "At Liverpool, it was easy to keep the ball and pass. (He) can't lose the ball twice in a row just by doing something unnecessary, dribbling and everything. This is reliability and what he has to improve.

"In every training session and game, he has one or two great actions and you say 'wow' but he also has eight actions where he loses the ball too easily or does something we don't want him to do.

"He is still a young player; sometimes a little up and down. We think he's on the right track then we see a setback. Last week was very positive: that's why I have this confidence that he can and will help us to win the game against Millwall. It's up to him but I trust in him, otherwise I wouldn't play him."

That trust seems limited, however. Players who fit Glasner's way of operating are those who are dedicated, determined and, above all else, reliable on a consistent basis. Asking that from a young player whose game predicated on being unpredictable is tough. In this system, Esse's failing is that he is erratic, still raw, and his greatest attribute is not one that his manager tends to favour.

Patience is something Esse is going to be forced to find. While there is no issue with attitude or application, it is hard to see, given Glasner's tough approach, emotional reactions and the type of player he appreciates, that he will be given much of a role to play in future.

"It is up to him," was the response in his post-match press conference where Glasner refused to explicitly criticise the young winger beyond acknowledging he was unhappy with Esse's performance, but what happens now is not entirely in the player's control. That wait to have an impact at Palace may have to extend to a future manager.