Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish says he will not rush appointing Patrick Vieira’s successor after the Frenchman was sacked following 18 months in charge.
Vieira has left Palace after a run of 12 games without a victory in all competitions – with their last win coming against Bournemouth on New Year’s Eve.
That run saw Palace exit the FA Cup at the third round to Premier League bottom side Southampton, while they slipped to within three points of the relegation zone.
Parish told Sky Sports News: “Of course it is a shame. I have an enormous amount of time and respect for Patrick [Vieira] and what he did for us. He got us to an FA Cup semi-final and we had a fantastic season last year.
“But obviously it is a results-based business and it is very tight at the bottom. I have to think about what gives us the best chance of retaining our top-flight status.
“That’s what it’s about now and we have to accept that we’re in a dogfight at the bottom with some very good teams.
“When you look at Leicester, West Ham, Wolves, Southampton, us, you start to think that three of those names are going to get relegated – they’re three very big names in the Premier League.”
Palace have confirmed that U21s head coach Paddy McCarthy will take charge of the Eagles’ next game away at Arsenal on Sunday supported by assistant Darren Powell and goalkeeping coach Dean Kiely.
“Football is a strange game as things can very quickly start not going right. When you feel you can’t get out of a rut, unfortunately then you’ve got to change something.
“Maybe things might have changed [for the better] anyway, but I couldn’t be sure of it so I’ve made the call I have and we move forward from here.
“Everybody loved Patrick, he never lost the players at all. They were still running for him but things weren’t happening. We’re just hoping now that there is some fresh impetus, a few different ideas.
“Maybe we can surprise the opposition by doing something different as we’ve got good players and have got a good squad. They followed Patrick and now they will follow Paddy [McCarthy] and Darren [Powell] to do the best for the football club.
“The mood is never bad and everyone is positive and believe we can win matches. Everyone is still positive for the game against Arsenal on Sunday. We’re not looking past Sunday. We’re not interviewing managers while we have the current set-up as that would be disrespectful.
“We want to give Paddy and Darren a clear run at it on Sunday. We’ve got our own list and that kind of thing but our focus is on facing Arsenal.” (Sky)