Crystal Palace begin search for old manager

Warnock's second chance to lead the Eagles ended with a 3-1 loss to Southampton on Boxing Day, with chairman Steve Parish declaring that it was time to give a second chance to someone else instead.

Former Palace manager Tony Pulis is the early favourite for the role, with former Palace manager Dougie Freedman and former Palace manager Ian Holloway also under consideration.

Sources close to Parish have mentioned former Palace managers George Burley and Steve Coppell as potential candidates, with Iain Dowie, who managed Crystal Palace in 2007, believed to be an outside bet.

Parish told FourFourTwo that it was time to try something different, and by different, he meant similar.

"We'd like to thank Colin [Neil Warnock] for the past four months of shouting and sarcastic jokes, but it clearly wasn't working out," Parish said. "However, this club has a clear strategy and we're going to stick to it.

"In our proud 109-year history we have had 59 different managers," he continued. "Following extensive research, I have narrowed them down to the 26 who are still alive, of which less than a third are Steve Kember."

When pressed, however, Parish was forced to admit that there was one overwhelmingly strong candidate for the vacancy.

"We need an experienced, no-nonsense veteran who's been in charge before, who knows the club inside out and who can get to work immediately," he said. "So it's almost inevitable that we will end up hiring Neil Warnock."

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