PALACE manager Ian Holloway has paid tribute to Peter Morley CBE after the club president sadly passed away last Sunday.
In what has been a very sad time for his family and at Palace, Holloway remembers the first time he met Peter and hailed him for the gentlemen he was and what he meant to the club.
"For me, my first knockings at Palace, Peter Morley sums it up and the whole club," Holloway exclusively told Advertiser Sport. "We've lost an important piece of our fabric, and what I mean by that is he was always polite, always positive and always very friendly.
"He's helped Palace through all sorts of times and actually running it when we were in administration.
"He was so kind and so warm when you first meet him. For me, when I first came to the club with my wife, he and his family were there and made us feel totally and utterly settled and welcome.
"I can't thank him enough. From my point of view, he goes down in our family of Palace as losing a hugely important member who has helped us, and everything he has done has made us very proud to be linked with Palace.
"It was a very sad day and all our love is with his family. I'm sure all the Palace fans will be joining with me at this very, very sad time for everybody.
"I will remember him as a person who linked me with the club immediately, just by the person he is."
There are now plans for the players and management to wear black armbands against Swansea City this weekend, but Holloway has called on the club to announce a minute's applause, which will celebrate Peter's life and all he did for the Eagles.
"I would imagine so [to wear black armbands] on Sunday, but I want a minute's applause for him," said the boss.
"We should celebrate, and that's how you get over this sad time in my opinion. How can you get over losing someone you loved that much?
"You have to try, and the best way to do it is to remember and smile about all the times when you were with him. No one can take them away.
"For me, for him to see us get promoted again, how fitting? That makes Wembley even more poignant for me."
Looking ahead to the game at Selhurst Park, Holloway wants the Palace fans to make it a difficult place for Michael Laudrup's team to come to.
And he revealed he watched their game on Monday night against Liverpool in a local pub.
"Swansea have had a tough week and they played Valencia on Thursday night – they're not used to that and then playing on a Sunday," said Holloway.
"I thought they played well against Liverpool and it was an excellent game. However, I don't have Sky yet so I ended up watching it in a Palace pub in West Wickham.
"It will be a tough test but I'm looking forward to it and one I think we can rise to the challenge of.
"I'm looking for our crowd to get right behind us and cause them a few problems."
Meanwhile, Holloway admitted he's been a big admirer of how the Swans play, which goes back to the days of Roberto Martinez in charge.
"People know I look at Swansea and they've helped me by watching them," he said.
"My old football philosophy was when Roberto Martinez was there, and I used to go there when I didn't have a job and I loved the way they played."
