Former Wanderers loanee Paddy McCarthy will take charge of Crystal Palace this weekend in the Premier League after the sacking of Patrick Vieira.

The Selhurst Park club have turned to McCarthy, who had been working with their Under-18s, to manage Sunday’s game against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

Frenchman Vieira was sacked after 20 months in charge, leaving the club 12th in the table but just three points above the relegation zone.

He had worked under director of football, and former Bolton Wanderers boss, Dougie Freedman, who was another candidate considered to step in as a short-term measure.

McCarthy played just five games for Bolton in 2015 after being signed on loan from Palace by Neil Lennon.

The move came about in bizarre circumstances, however, with then-Eagles boss Tony Pulis duped into publicising the Irish defender’s availability by a radio phone-in prankster, who had pretended to be Lennon, asking about the possibility of signing Gareth McCauley.

By sheer chance, said Wanderers at the time, the real Lennon then completed a deal for McCarthy a couple of weeks later.

Vieira was moved out after a poor run of no wins in their last 11 league games, culminating in a 1-0 defeat against Brighton in midweek.

Palace chairman Steve Parish admitted, "It is with enormous regret that this difficult decision has been made.

"Ultimately, results in recent months have placed us in a precarious league position and we felt a change is necessary to give us the best chance of retaining Premier League status. That said, Patrick’s impact since joining us in the summer of 2021 has been significant, and he is held in the highest regard by myself, and all of his colleagues.

"He led the team to a Wembley FA Cup semi-final and respectable 12th placed finish last season playing some exciting football, which was a challenging and crucial campaign for the club given the changes we made to the squad prior to his arrival.

"Patrick has given his all to the club, and we all thank him and his team for their service. We also wish Patrick, Osian, Kristian and Saïd the very best for their futures."

Get unlimited access to all our Wanderers coverage - including our exclusive interviews in the build-up to the Papa Johns Trophy final against Plymouth Argyle - by subscribing to The Bolton News for just £3 for your first three months HERE.