CRYSTAL Palace co-chairman Steve Parish has heaped praise on manager Ian Holloway after the Eagles booked a spot in the play-off final at Wembley.

Second half substitutions changed the game for Palace as Wilfried Zaha scored two sensational goals at the AMEX Stadium to beat arch-rivals Brighton in the most crucial of games.

And Parish believes Holloway deserves all the praise he gets after coming through a tough few months when tensions grew between him and the supporters.

“Ian could see we were getting on top,” he said.

“He decided to turn the screw with the substitutions and it worked perfectly.

“That is the thing with our manager, he makes positive substitutions and he always tries to win games.

“He has had a sticky time with the fans. We went five games without a goal recently. Ian stood strong through that and kept bringing in new ideas.

“He deserves a lot of credit for that.”

Palace’s co-chairman was also quick to praise two-goal hero Zaha after his own form seemed to dip since the turn of the year when he secured his transfer to Manchester United.

The 20-year-old winger has been at Palace for 11 years now and clearly showed all of his love for the club that has nurtured him into one of England’s finest young stars with his emphatic display.

“I asked Wilf for three more games,” Parish said.

“He has given us two so far, he was sensational, not only for the two brilliant goals but his work-rate for the team.

“What you see out there is a kid who has been at the club since he was nine. I couldn’t be more proud of him.”

The Eagles are now just 90 minutes away from a return to the Premier League and all the riches which come with it.

Dubbed as the richest match in the world, Parish has put his price on the Championship play-off final and explained just what it could mean for the club.

“That game is worth at least £120m,” he said.

“If you can then stay there for two or three seasons, well it’s ridiculous money.

“That money will change this football club, I will change this football club alongside Ian Holloway.

“We have 900,000 fans in our catchment area and we can attract those with Premier League football.

“Together we can all change this club forever.”

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