January 9 2011

Dougie Freedman

Caretaker boss Dougie Freedman admits Crystal Palace's FA Cup defeat to Coventry was his last game in charge.

Freedman guided Palace to league victory over Preston on Monday but was unable to repeat the trick in Saturday's tie at Coventry.

The Eagles fought back to 2-1 as Neil Danns missed a penalty late on to bow out of the competiton at the first attempt.

AFC Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe is hotly tipped to take over at Selhurst Park with Freedman's lack of mangerial experience likely to have cost him the role full time.

"I probably won't be in charge for the next match," he said. "I think we should expect a new manager sooner rather than later and the only reason I say that is because we are in the transfer window and you can see that we are short in one or two positions and I think it is best that we appoint a manager so that he can get into the transfer market."

Freedman believed Palace could have sealed a place in the fourth round had they taken a number of opportunities.

"I think we should have ended up winning the game if we look at the chances and the possession we had, especially in the second half," he said.

"We missed a penalty and one or two close shaves in and around the six-yard box so overall I thought we could have won it, but if you switch off in the first 20 minutes and don't defend properly you are going to get punished.

"I was extremely disappointed with the way we started and the players must understand it is a competitive game from the beginning, especially against Coventry, and you can't just turn it on and off but saying that, we showed good character in the second half to get back in it."

Coventry manager Aidy Boothroyd added: "We are in the hat and that's what it's all about - getting through. And, also, considering the run we've had, it was nice to get a win. But we could have been taken to a replay and that would have been awful.

"We played really well for long periods of the game and were in control until the last 10 minutes but then we got nervous, which is to be expected considering results."