Ian Holloway blamed himself for Crystal Palace’s listless display and 2-0 defeat at home to Swansea City today.

He confessed to be “absolutely gutted” and admitted his new signings looked like strangers all through the 90 minutes of Premier League action.

Following his touchline ban, Holloway was once again in the stands and he admitted he needed to in the action.

He said: “I am absolutely gutted – all the hard work we put in over the week faded away inside 90 seconds.

“The new players I brought in, they all looked like strangers but I am to blame for that display.

“They needed me on the touchline and I was not there, it’s my fault for losing my temper in the Tottenham match. They need to feel the manager is with them and I wasn’t.

“I don’t ever want to sit here in front of you again feeling as bad as I do now. The players have had a volley from me because we are all Palace.”

He added: “Positively speaking, I know what I have to work with. I have to encourage them and make them believe in themselves, and that is what I will be doing.”

Swansea came to Selhurst Park on the back of a 3-0 win at Valencia in the Europa League on Thursday night, and while Michael Laudrup made five changes to the side, they were still too strong for Palace in all areas.

The Eagles were undone by early goals in both halves – Michu fired through Julian Speroni’s legs on 80 seconds, and Nathan Dyer beat Speroni from close range in the 47th minute.

Holloway’s problems were compounded when Damien Delaney did not re-emerge after the break with an ankle injury, and with no recognisable defender on the bench, Mile Jedinak had to drop back.

Holloway said: “Damien’s got an ankle like an elephant – it has completely swollen up. Our worse area is in the back-line, I was hoping Paddy [McCarthy] would be fit, he is nearly there.

“Jack Hunt is injured because Adrian [Mariappa] is injured, the only other cover I had was another midfielder.”

The defeat, Palace’s fourth in five Premier League outings, has Holloway’s men second from bottom and facing tough trips to Southampton and Liverpool in the coming weekends.