Paddy McCarthy couldn't have asked for a tougher start to his managerial career as he prepares to take his Crystal Palace team to Arsenal on Sunday.
The Raheny man has been put in temporary charge of the Eagles following the sacking of Patrick Vieira and faces a daunting trip to the Emirates Stadium to take on the Premier League leaders tomorrow afternoon. The 39-year-old former Palace captain has been in charge of various underage sides at Selhurst since retiring in 2016 but steps into the hotseat, assisted by Under- 21s Assistant Coach Darren Powell and former Republic of Ireland international Dean Kiely.
And while he is relishing the "massive moment" in his fledgling coaching, McCarthy said the main focus is securing a result for Palace, who are without a win in 2023. “Obviously it’s a massive moment for myself, but ultimately it’s not about me,” he told Palace TV.
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“My only focus at the moment is about getting the team prepared and ready for Arsenal in the short space of time that we have, so everything’s just going to be geared into that. I’ll push all of that emotion to one side. Yes, it’s going to be a great opportunity for myself and Darren to manage at that level, but the focus is solely on setting the gameplan and implementing that on Sunday.”
McCarthy, who spent eight years as a player at the South London club, took training for the first time yesterday and was pleased with the response of the players to the session. He said: “Under strange circumstances, the lads showed good energy and enthusiasm.
“We tried to implement some ideas, but we’re obviously mindful that they’re still recovering from the game the other night at Brighton, and we’re preparing for Sunday against Arsenal. It was good to get on the grass. The boys were excellent. They received our messages really well, so I was pleased coming off the pitch.”
The former defender added he is confident his side can pull themselves out of their recent slump due to the talent within the squad. He said: “There’s an abundance of talent in the group – I know that, I think everybody knows that – and they’ve shown it in games over the course of the season.
“They showed a lot of quality last year getting to the semi-finals of the [FA] Cup, so there’s definite quality in the group, and we just have to try our best to get that out of them.”
Former Palace boss Roy Hodgson is the current favourite to take the reigns at the club again with Jesse Marsch, Ralph Hasenhuttl and Rafa Benitez also among the names touted to replace former France captain Vieira. However, Mail Online reports McCarthy may be offered the job until the end of the season if he inspires an upturn in fortunes.
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