Roy Hodgson is reportedly in talks to return to Crystal Palace following the sacking of his successor Patrick Vieira.
Vieira changed former England boss Hodgson, now 75, in 2021 however the membership are reportedly contemplating turning again the clock after shedding religion within the Frenchman.
Palace declined to remark when contacted by the PA information company.
Hodgson gave the impression to be set for retirement when he walked away from Palace 18 months in the past however accepted a fire-fighting mission at Watford final yr, unsuccessfully making an attempt to steer the Hornets away from relegation.
He steered on the time that his lengthy and eventful profession was winding down – saying: “I don’t suppose I shall be placing my identify ahead anymore for additional tales on this planet of Premier League soccer” – however his resolve may very well be stretched by one final spell at his outdated stomping floor.
Any deal would probably be short-term, probably till the tip of the present marketing campaign. Extra instantly, former membership captain Paddy McCarthy will lead the facet towards Arsenal on Sunday, with the under-21 coach assisted by Darren Powell and goalkeeping coach Dean Kiely.
Palace have held onto twelfth place for 9 straight weeks however their current run of type, 12 matches throughout all competitions with no win and simply 5 targets scored, left the south London facet simply three factors away from the relegation zone with 11 video games to go.
Whereas Hodgson’s candidacy seems to be advancing, the likes of Jesse Marsch, out of a job since he was let go by Leeds final month, former Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl, Lucien Favre and Adi Hutter have all been linked.
Palace chairman Steve Parish insisted the temper round his membership remained optimistic following Vieira’s departure.
“The gamers are fantastic and everyone is trying ahead to Sunday, actually,” Palace co-owner Parish instructed Sky Sports activities.
“The sensation is nice. You realize, everyone cherished Patrick, genuinely. The gamers had on a regular basis on this planet for him. You noticed from the performances he by no means misplaced the gamers in any respect, they have been all operating and taking part in for him.
“I feel issues simply weren’t taking place, so the temper was good, it was fantastic, however clearly we’re hoping that there’s a little bit of contemporary impetus, a couple of completely different concepts, possibly we shock the opposition slightly bit doing one thing completely different.
“We’ve received good gamers, we’ve received an excellent squad, we’ve received good lads. They comply with Patrick and they’re going to comply with Paddy and they’re going to comply with Darren and they’re going to do one of the best for the soccer membership.
“Everyone is optimistic and desires to do their finest and believes that we are able to win soccer matches. I’m not going to let you know it’s superb at present as a result of Patrick is gone, as a result of Patrick is a good man and other people cherished working with him.
“I’m positive he’ll go on and be as profitable as he was final yr for us someplace else, and he’ll possibly study from the bits the place it misplaced its method slightly bit, and I actually hope he does. It’s simply soccer, isn’t it?”
McCarthy took the crew by means of coaching because the information of Vieira’s departure broke, and instructed Palace TV: “Underneath unusual circumstances, the lads confirmed good power and enthusiasm.
“Clearly it’s a large second for myself, however finally it’s not about me.
“My solely focus in the intervening time is about getting the crew ready and prepared for Arsenal within the quick area of time that now we have, so the whole lot’s simply going to be geared into that.
“I’ll push all of that emotion to 1 facet. Sure, it’s going to be an incredible alternative for myself and Darren to handle at that stage, however the focus is solely on setting the sport plan and implementing that on Sunday.”
Whereas Palace at the moment occupy the identical spot wherein they completed final marketing campaign, the underlying numbers look starkly completely different – their complete of 21 targets in 27 video games this season is fewer than any Premier League crew apart from Wolves, Everton and Southampton (20) and barely half of their tally, 37, on the identical stage final time period.
