NEIL Warnock has described managing Crystal Palace as a “great job” but says Eddie Howe must weigh up whether it would be the right move for him.

The vastly-experienced Yorkshireman spent three years in the Selhurst Park hot-seat before leaving to take charge at QPR.

Warnock even recommended Howe to the Palace board before George Burley – who was sacked last week – was appointed in the summer.

Howe has been widely tipped as a possible replacement for Burley with Cherries understood to have reluctantly given the Eagles permission to speak to him.

Although neither Howe nor chairman Eddie Mitchell has confirmed the approach, Daily Echo sources suggest the Cherries boss may have already held talks with the Championship strugglers.

Palace co-chairman Steve Parish and chief executive Phil Alexander were believed to have started interviewing for the post yesterday.

Now 62, Warnock’s distinguished career has seen him manage in all four divisions in England, winning promotion to the top flight with Notts County in 1991 and Sheffield United in 2006.

Speaking exclusively to the Daily Echo last night, Warnock said: “Eddie is one of the brightest young managers in the country. He has got Bournemouth organised and has used the situation at the club to his advantage. He has created a siege mentality and has got them playing good football.

“They have had their fair share of (financial) problems but you never heard him criticise anybody on the board or try to blame the off-field situation. He handled it like an experienced manager would.

“It’s obvious to me and everybody else that their chairman would want him to stay and I don’t see any reason why they would want him to go. If anything, whoever was responsible for giving him the job should be given a round of applause because not many people would have appointed someone so young.

“Sometimes, you can be too loyal for your career. I could have managed Chelsea 30 years ago and sometimes these opportunities don’t come around again.

“As a manager, you have to look at every situation that develops and decide if it is right for you. Eddie has given great service to Bournemouth. There can be a bit of bitterness when managers leave but, overall, he would be remembered as the manager who helped them through the real lean times.”

Warnock, who agreed to loan Rhoys Wiggins to Cherries when he was in charge at Palace, believes the south London club would be an attractive proposition to Howe.

He added: “There are still two or three other candidates being interviewed and it’s not cut and dried. Eddie would be battling with himself if it were to happen because part of him wouldn’t want to leave either.

“It’s a great job and the Palace fans are fabulous. I loved every minute of it. I was in a similar position there to what Eddie found himself in at Bournemouth. We didn’t have any money and we had problems left, right and centre. But dealing with them on a daily basis brought us together.

“Steve Parish is a good bloke and the other guys are all supporters and love the club. They’ve got some very good young players there and that is another thing Eddie would probably like because he has blooded a lot at Bournemouth.

“When you leave a club that you’ve been associated with for a long time, there is a fear factor.

“It’s almost like walking into the unknown and that’s what you’ve got to overcome.

“Even now when I move clubs, I still feel the nerves and nothing changes as you get older. You have to deal with that and he would deal with it in his own way.”