John Salako has admitted that it was a shame how his time as a coach at Crystal Palace came to an end. Having worked in Palace’s academy set-up, the former winger became the Eagles’ first team coach in 2015, joining his old team-mate Alan Pardew and his coaching staff. Salako was part of the coaching team as Palace reached the FA Cup final, with the Eagles losing out to Manchester United in extra time at Wembley as their wait for a first FA Cup success continued. But with Kevin Keen coming in as first team coach to work with Pardew in July 2016, Salako moved on, with the former Palace winger speaking of how much he has missed coaching since leaving the club.
John Salako said“I loved it, I absolutely loved it. It was a shame really, because at the end of the season, Pards said ‘look, Kevin Keen is available again, I have worked with him before and I need to bring him in.’ He said to go and speak to the chairman [Steve Parish] about a different role, but I didn’t really get convinced about the roles they were talking about and it didn’t really fill me with any kind of confidence. And that’s when I thought it didn’t sound like they wanted me there, so I ended up leaving, but I desperately miss it, and the day to day with the boys.”
