‘ Too tired’ Holloway felt strain
FROM BACK PAGE Fulham. Parish persuaded him to sleep on it , but in the next 48 hours of talks, Holloway again admitted he could not go on and it was agreed to terminate his c ontract, just fi ve months after he led the club to promotion via the play- offs.
Parish said: “I will speak to Tony Pulis. He never got relegated from the Premier League. He’s out of work, with Premier League experience. We need to fi nd the right person.”
Ironically, Holloway, above, is close friends with Pulis and is godfather to his son Anthony. The pair are also former Bristol Rovers team- mates.
Other names in the frame are West Bromwich manager Steve Clarke, who is keen to return to London , and former Palace fi rst- team coach Tony Popovic, currently at Australian A League club Western Sydney Wanderers.
A subdued Holloway said he had been infuriated by stories about his wife Kim travelling on the team bus, but admitted that he had lost sections of the dressing room.
He said: “I like to inspire and help people. But we didn’t keep the spirit that got us up. We tried to change things too quickly.
“The club and me had a different agenda. I’m not saying the players we brought in were not good enough, but they needed to buy into this club like the last lot.
“I’m very tired. Part of the conversation I had with Steve was me saying, ‘ Have I got the energy left?’ I had fi ve days off this summer. I’m exhausted.
“I need some time to chill out. I miss my grandson and I thank my wife for putting up with me. I could sell fridges to an Eskimo if I believed in it enough. That’s the kind of belief that got us here. But seven defeats out of eight doesn’t feel good enough.
“This club needs an impetus of energy. I want to give them the chance to stay in this division.
“They didn’t want me to do this. They’ve got a great chance, they’ve got 30 more games.
“The best chance they’ve got is if they use some of the money this big division gives them to get someone they couldn’t afford when they chose me, and if that happens, sitting at home in my front room, no one is going to jump higher than me.”
Parish said: “Ian instigated the original conversation. He felt things weren’t working and he was not getting the support to play the way he wanted to play.
“We spent three days chatting about ways it might work, trying to get him to give it a go against Arsenal on Saturday.
“Ian has been fantastic and brought us one of the best days in our history. He’s incredibly brave because most would carry on taking the money.
“We’ve never fallen out. I should have realised he needed some help. We never mentioned the word “sack”. I don’t think Ian has lost the players. He has been very noble and said, ‘ I can’t do it’.
“I didn’t want to do this. I don’t sack managers. But football doesn’t wait for you. We had the fi nal conversation this morning. I wanted him to sleep on it once more . It’s a horrible process. Maybe I should have talked him out of it. I don’t think it’s impossible for us to stay up.”
Assistant manager Keith Millen will take charge of the side for Saturday’s visit of Arsenal.