Crystal Palace chairman confident of finalising Ian Holloway deal

Ian Holloway (GETTY IMAGES)

Crystal Palace are confident of announcing Ian Holloway as their new manager after making an official approach to Blackpool last night.

Palace have been on the lookout for a replacement for Dougie Freedman after the Scot joined Bolton last week. The Palace chairman, Steve Parish, confirmed yesterday that he had identified Holloway, 49, as their prime target and is hopeful of sealing a deal in the next couple of days.

"We've made an official approach to Blackpool for Ian Holloway and now we just have to wait," he said. "We're pretty confident but we'll see – you never know anything in this game until it actually happens. We'll do our best but I'd like to think he will give us the right impetus now to push on.

"We feel that where we are now we need a bit of experience. The players are in a certain place and it took Dougie nearly two years to get where we are now. Rather than just try to find another Dougie, we're thinking let's try and change up."

It is believed Holloway has a clause in his contract allowing him to leave Blackpool if a club offers £400,000 compensation. The former Queen's Park Rangers manager moved to Bloomfield Road in 2009 and guided the Seasiders to the Premier League via the play-offs a year later.

Palace are fourth in the Championship after a run of 10 games unbeaten and will face Blackburn on Saturday at Selhurst Park with youth team coach Curtis Fleming in charge, after Lennie Lawrence joined Freedman at Bolton yesterday.