Parish calls for unity as pressure mounts on Palace boss de Boer

Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish has urged everyone at the club to “stick together” despite the team’s poor start to the Premier League season and increasing speculation about the future of manager Frank de Boer.

The Dutchman has overseen four defeats in as many games without scoring a goal since taking over at Selhurst Park in the summer, the worst start in Premier League history.

Former England manager Roy Hodgson has reportedly been linked with De Boer’s job but chairman Parish has taken to Twitter to rally fans around the team, without giving unequivocal backing to the former Ajax and Inter Milan boss.

In an exchange with supporters on social media following Sunday’s 1-0 defeat at Burnley, Parish wrote: “People are frustrated, I’m frustrated, so are the management and players. We know we are better than this…”

Parish also wrote: “We are 4 games in, it’s a terrible start but we have to stick together.”

In response to one Twitter user who accused him of undermining De Boer and the players, Parish responded: “I think I’m defending everyone at the club who’s working their a*** off to turn this round. Football teams lose games it happens.”

Palace have so far conceded seven goals with defeats to Huddersfield, Liverpool, Swansea and Burnley. Ahead of the home match with Southampton on Saturday, Parish added: “Anyway so much for not answering people when we lose. Tough spot this. Looking forward to turning it round Saturday. Up The Palace!”

He also retweeted a post from injured Palace forward Wilfried Zaha, who has been out since the opening day of the season with a knee problem.

Zaha, who was not fit to play at Burnley, wrote: “It’s easy to point fingers right now which won’t solve anything! Let’s just stick together and get through it like we always do #cpfcfamily.”

De Boer said after the match at Turf Moor: ”I am just focusing on what I can control and so are my staff and my players. (The future) is for other people to decide but while I’m the manager of Crystal Palace I will give 100 per cent.”

Palace were unfortunate to leave Lancashire with nothing after a series of missed chances, including those falling to Christian Benteke and Scott Dann late on.

A dreadful back-pass from Lee Chung-yong gifted Burnley striker Chris Wood an early goal on his home debut.

De Boer said: ”We have to reward ourselves and we didn’t do that today. I am disappointed about the result but I am not disappointed about how we played.”