Palace owner admits Burley was wrong choice

The Eagles' co-chairman sacked Burley after yesterday's 3-0 loss at south London rivals Millwall left the club second bottom in the Championship.

Last night, Parish went on internet forums Holmesdale.net and cpfc.org to explain the decision, and revealed he thought he had made a mistake in employing Burley.

He wrote: “I think I've learnt a lot about things in the last six months.

“In hindsight, I got the wrong choice for the circumstance we are in and for the way we are at Palace, the players we bring through and probably the way Martin and I are as people.

“We picked the manager and he didn't work out.

“George knows what he is capable of and how to represent that to me but I know Palace and the situation.

“It's our job to make these pieces fit and they didn't.

“There are also questions I would ask now that I didn't know to ask then.

“The manager isn't ultimately responsible for the well-being of the club, the chairman is.

“Martin and I picked him, it was the wrong decision and therefore our fault.”

Parish wrote his hand was forced by both the lowly league position and lack of fight in the team recently.

He also criticised Burley's inability to sign a player before the loan window closed in November, citing Millwall's hat-trick hero James Puncheon, on loan from Southampton, as one example.

When one fan asked 'You seem to be suggesting that GB not signing someone in the loan window is something approaching dereliction of duty. With that in mind do you think you should have acted sooner?', Parish simply replied, 'yes'.

He did though defend Burley against suggestions the players were against him.

“I've not seen that anywhere,” he wrote.

“He had not lost the dressing room to my knowledge.

“Players supported George and tried to do their best for him.”

Parish also revealed they hoped to appoint a new manager as soon as possible and that they already had a short shortlist of candidates but would not reveal any names.