Former Preston North End defender Paddy McCarthy is in the running to become the new Crystal Palace boss following Patrick Vieira’s exit.
Of all the loan signings PNE have made in the last 10 years or so, McCarthy may be one of the more forgettable.
Bradley Fewster, Andre Green and Paul Connolly spring to mind too, but McCarthy is right up there.
PNE swooped to sign McCarthy way back in October 2015, snapping the defender up on a three-month loan from Palace.
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The announcement of his arrival came just one minute before McCarthy was thrown straight into the PNE starting XI to face Sheffield Wednesday.
McCarthy had a reputation for being injured fairly regularly but few could have predicted his PNE career to last just 10 minutes.
McCarthy picked up an injury just minutes into his North End career, was substituted and never seen again.
The Irishman headed back to Palace but was released at the end of the season and decided to hang up his boots.
McCarthy has turned to coaching since his retirement though and is now Palace’s Under-23 boss, a role he has held since the summer of 2021.
Patrick Vieira has now been sacked as Palace’s first-team manager and McCarthy seems to be a candidate for the job.
The Sun’s Alan Nixon reports that McCarthy wants the job and may be allowed to bring in senior coaches to help him.
David Ornstein of The Athletic has added that McCarthy will be in charge for this weekend’s game against Arsenal as an interim boss.
There is now a real chance that McCarthy takes the reins until the summer – according to The Telegraph’s John Percy – and attempts to keep Palace in the Premier League.
That’s a big task facing the 39-year-old and he could soon become another ex-PNE man to manage in the top flight, alongside West Ham United’s David Moyes.