Skipper is sure Dougie’s exit will not bring Palace down

Quite how good was reflected in the fact that Perkins’s strike was Barnsley’s only attempt in a second half of comfortable Palace containment after they had edged the first, deservedly rewarded by Glenn Murray’s eighth goal of the season.

Palace remain fourth in the Championship, far above most expectations after losing their first three matches. Their latest and arguably greatest challenge is to overcome the departure of a manager lured away by a team 12 places adrift of the Eagles.

Jedinak’s measured reaction suggested Freedman’s exit was hardly a shock.

“It was only mentioned to us in the hotel just before the game but we’re professionals and it’s part of football,” he said. “Collectively, we are very good as a unit and there is some credit due to him [Freedman] for that. It took tremendous character to bounce back from a tough start and he was a lot behind that. Full credit to him and we wish him all the best.”

But Jedinak also gave a telling dressing room endorsement to veteran caretaker boss Lennie Lawrence and his assistant Curtis Fleming whose dual appearance in the post-match press conference suggested they were putting themselves in the frame — even if they did not confirm as much.

“There was a good feel to our preparations under Lennie and Curtis, full credit to them,” said Jedinak. “We’re not too sure what will happen next and we’re waiting to hear.

“But we had a game plan for Barnsley and executed it as well as we could. We were unlucky to concede at the end because it was a very good performance. Maybe we should have buried the game earlier but we couldn’t really have done things much better.”

The 64-year-old temporary boss was in full agreement. Lawrence, though, was careful when asked about his prospects for the permanent job, saying: “You can’t speculate on what might happen.” But a man of his experience surely knows how a caretaker can get his feet under the table.

Lawrence said that whoever takes charge will be lucky to inherit “such a terrific set of players”.

He added: “I couldn’t be more pleased with their effort and commitment at what was a tricky time.”