Caretaker boss smiles after solid Palace show

london — Crystal Palace earned their first point in eight Premier League matches as they kept Everton at bay in a 0-0 draw at Selhurst Park to bring a smile to the face of caretaker manager Keith Millen before he bows out.

With the league’s bottom club set to name a new manager before they travel to Hull City in two weeks time, Millen could look back on a job well done after bringing some stability to the team following Ian Holloway’s departure last month.

“I will walk out with a smile on my face because we got what we deserved,” Millen told reporters.

“We set ourselves up to block Everton’s passing. We kept patient and on the counter we had four or five very good opportunities. I will never criticise a player for missing chances.”

Promoted Palace, who have four points from 11 matches, missed three great chances with Kagisho Dikagcoi and Marouane Chamakh off target with headers as was Jerome Thomas when he tried lobbing keeper Tim Howard when clean through on goal.

“I asked them to be brave today. Today they were fighting for the cause. We were brave but we didn’t have the quality in the opposition box. The clear cut chances, if you want to be critical, we have to take them,” he said. —

I will never criticise a player for missing chances

Millen