Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish takes responsibility for the hiring of Frank de Boer.

The former Ajax coach lasted only months in charge.

Parish told the Daily Mail: "I would take as much of the blame as anybody.

"I'd just brought in investment from new American business partners, everyone had a bit of input into it, whereas usually I would just pick the manager. Everybody wanted to be a bit adventurous and I understood that. We ended up seeing too many people and got in a muddle.

"I felt for Frank. He's a really good man. But it was difficult. I remember him talking to me about signing a player in the Championship. I said, 'Frank, I don't know what to say to you. You played 130 times for Holland, the greatest football team that ever walked the planet. You are in the all-time top XI of that team. You won every major title there is. But honestly I don't know how you think that player is going help us'.

"The problem was what he valued in a player was borderline useless for us as a team at that point in the Premier League. And what he didn't value were qualities that he needed. So it was very difficult."