Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish is confident that the club's Europa Conference League triumph will be instrumental in attracting a high-calibre replacement for Oliver Glasner and convincing key players to remain at Selhurst Park.
The Eagles secured their first European trophy with a 1-0 victory over Rayo Vallecano in Leipzig on Wednesday, marking a fitting end to Glasner's tenure. This historic win also guarantees Palace a place in next season's Europa League, building on last year's FA Cup success.
Parish now faces a crucial summer, tasked with appointing a new head coach and retaining the club's star performers. Among the bookmakers' favourites for the managerial role are Andoni Iraola, who is set to leave Bournemouth, former Tottenham manager Thomas Frank, and Coventry head coach Frank Lampard.
Speaking about the impact of the Conference League victory, Parish told Sky Sports: "I think it makes our life easier in one way and more difficult in another. Easier in that I think the managers we're looking at are probably more encouraged by us playing in Europe. I think that would mean something to them to expose themselves in that competition. Obviously, it's another 60 games, probably, and we need to be prepared, we know what's involved now. We need to try and get ourselves in good shape with the right quality, the right amount of cover, the right manager, and go again and see if we can't win that one."
Mateta Scores Winner
Jean-Philippe Mateta scored Palace's 51st-minute winner at Red Bull Arena, securing the club's first European silverware. Austrian boss Glasner had announced in January that he would leave the club when his contract expires at the end of this season.
Asked how much of a boost playing in the Europa League next term will be for recruiting a manager and retaining players, Parish said: "I think it is, I really do. I don't think it's everything. I think there are other challenges; there are other clubs out there looking for managers and they're probably in Europe as well, but it certainly helps. I think we're looking at this morning in a lot better state than we would have been had the alternative happened and we'd lost the game, and then maybe one or two players that might be thinking about staying maybe thought, 'oh, no, I don't want to do another year', so obviously it helps in a lot of ways."
Parish on Squad Depth
While co-owner Parish admits Palace need to strengthen their squad, he does not want to see a major overhaul. Paying tribute to Glasner, who replaced Roy Hodgson in February 2024, Parish said: "Oliver has things that he wants to do and we're lucky that he came to our club for the time that he did. We've got to look forward and so has Oliver. He'll always have a special place in the heart of all the Crystal Palace fans. I hope we remain friends. We get on really well. You can't do these things unless everything functions together, and let's hope we can put that around the new guy that comes in."
