'There has always been a reluctance from Parish to fire Glasner'
· Yahoo Sports
Over the course of the last few weeks, Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish has resisted the urge to act on impulse.
Instead, his approach to, at least external uncertainty over head coach Oliver Glasner's future, has been measured.
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Parish's path towards deciding, as of yet, not to bring forward the Austrian's exit from Selhurst Park may yet prove one of the defining factors in what the club hope will be another historic season climax.
In many ways, the easiest decision for Parish was to sack Glasner, who has already disclosed he is leaving the club when his contract expires at the end of the season.
Ahead of the club's 1-0 win at Brighton on 12 February, the team had not won in 12 in all competitions.
Growing sections of the fanbase had turned on the Austrian, who had infamously aired his displeasure at the sanctioning of captain Marc Guehi's move to Manchester City before confirming his decision to leave this summer.
The win at the Amex Stadium provided brief respite, their 3-2 home loss to relegation threatened Burnley, having taken a two goal lead, just days later wasn't well received by supporters.
By the end of the Uefa Conference League first-leg play-off draw against Zrinjski Mostar last week, travelling fans were calling for Glasner's head.
Glasner continued to air his angst in public, calling on supporters to stay "humble" in the face of calls for his head – a soundbite that landed dreadfully with fans.
But Parish held his nerve when pressure to call time on Glasner's reign at Selhurst Park was as strong as it had ever been.
The result: two consecutive wins over Wolves and Zrinjski Mostar to book their place in the Conference League last 16 and to move to within just three points of eighth in the Premier League.
Plight has been replaced with optimism. Indeed, Palace have now lost just one game in six.
Of course, the merits of keeping faith with Glasner will be fully judged at the end of the season.
But Parish's decision to seek stability over upheaval at such a crucial stage of Palace's season has shown early signs of paying off.
As a lifetime Palace supporter it is, perhaps, harder for Parish than other club owners to disregard emotion from decisions regarding the club.
But Parish's apparent ability to compartmentalise shouldn't be underestimated in Palace's recent upturn.
[Getty Images]The lack of a clear candidate to replace Glasner on a short-term basis would likely have been considered in recent weeks.
The managerial landscape will change drastically in the summer.
A number of managers that Palace would view as suitable candidates to replace Glasner, the likes of Andoni Iraola and Marco Silva, are set to be out of contract in the summer.
Thomas Frank, recently sacked by Tottenham, will be open to a new project from the summer.
Frank Lampard, who is currently in the midst of a promotion tilt with Coventry, is highly regarded at Selhurst Park and could be enticed by a return to London depending on how this season ends.
Sean Dyche is out of work and will look to return ahead of next season.
It is logical for Palace to wait until the summer as they look to appoint Glasner's successor.
You would imagine Glasner's body of work would also have been a point of consideration for Parish in recent weeks.
The Austrian is widely recognised as the team's greatest ever manager having led Palace to last season's historic FA Cup victory – their first ever major trophy – the Community Shield triumph over Liverpool in August and the club's first ever foray in European football.
Things behind the scenes are not perfect and while Glasner's public outbursts are not ideal, there is a recognition that in the 49-year-old they still have an accomplished coach that has led the club to arguably the greatest period in its history.
That counts for something.
There is also an understanding that Glasner can be emotional and, on occasion, those emotions can spill over.
With that all said, relations between the club and Glasner are described as positive and certainly not as unfavourable as some would assume given the public comments made by the manager.
More recently, Palace have sensed a greater zeal in Glasner amid a sense that the manager is focused on bringing the curtain down on his reign with further glory.
So, for now, Palace will continue with Glasner at the helm. Unless there is a significant change in the course of events in the coming weeks, the expectation is that Glasner will see out his contract before riding off into the sunset.
There has always been a reluctance from Parish to fire Glasner for the reasons outlined above.
That reluctance certainly hasn't waned in light of the club's recent improvement. Parish won't be rushing to fire a manager he views as one of the greatest the club has ever had.
If the Austrian can add the club's first-ever European trophy then Parish's decision to stick should not be overlooked.