Mackay poised to succeed Pulis and take the Crystal Palace reins
CRYSTAL PALACE were last night poised to resolve their managerial situation by appointing former Cardiff City boss Malky Mackay as the successor to Tony Pulis.
Mackay looks set to beat off competition from Tim Sherwood, who was dismissed by Tottenham at the end of last season, and ex-England chief Glenn Hoddle, who emerged as a surprise third candidate on Monday.
The 42-year-old is favourite to land the role after co-chairman Steve Parish held a series of interviews in the wake of Saturday’s last-gasp defeat at Arsenal, which saw Keith Millen in caretaker charge following Pulis’ shock departure.
Former Norwich City defender Mackay began his managerial career at Watford in 2009 after a caretaker spell in charge at Vicarage Road a year earlier, before taking the reins at Cardiff and leading the Bluebirds to the Premier League in 2013.
Mackay, who also had playing spells at West Ham and Celtic, previously enjoyed a close working relationship with Palace’s sporting director Iain Moody at the Cardiff City Stadium.
Moody left the south Wales club last October while Mackay was sacked by owner Vincent Tan in December following a 3-0 home defeat to Southampton, ending months of intense speculation over his future at the club.
The Scot appears to have benefitted from his association with Moody as Parish had indicated he would prefer a candidate with previous Premier League experience, either in the dugout or in a playing capacity, and Mackay’s is limited.
Aside from the 18 Premier League games he had in charge of Cardiff, of which only four ended in victory, he played just 14 top-flight matches for Watford despite winning promotion from English football’s second tier on three occasions.
Former Stoke City boss Pulis walked away from Selhurst Park less than 48 hours before the start of the new campaign after clashing with Parish over the club’s transfer policy and a lack of activity.
The Eagles have made three senior signings this summer with Fraizer Campbell, Brede Hangeland and Martin Kelly all joining, and with further reinforcements targeted Mackay’s ability to work with Moody could be a bonus.
Parish is keen to move swiftly and fill the vacancy as soon as possible in a bid to give the new man maximum time to prepare the Palace squad ahead of Saturday’s home clash with Sam Allardyce’s West Ham.