It may end in tears – or court – but love was in the air at Selhurst Park yesterday as two of the most volatile and controversial figures in the game announced that they were going to work together. Simon Jordan, the Crystal Palace chairman, is famous for speaking his mind and Neil Warnock, the new Palace manager, likes to call a spade a spade.

“We’ve been friends for ages,” Warnock said. “Ever since Simon tried to sue me a couple of years ago for something that I had said in the papers. Anyway, that’s all in the past. I went to see him about it, we cleared the air and that’s how we became friends.”

Warnock, who has signed a 2½year contract, has been out of work since he left Sheffield United under a cloud after their relegation to the Coca-Cola Championship at the end of last season, but the 58-year-old said that he has recharged his batteries and is ready for one final challenge before retirement.

“There’s no way I’m going to be able to quieten Simon down because that would be a miracle and I’m not a miracle-worker, but I know he will give me what I want if I show him what I can do and, if we take the fans along with us, then we can all enjoy the ride,” he said.

Warnock replaces Peter Taylor, the former England Under-21 manager, who paid the price on Monday for Palace’s poor start to the season. Jordan was expecting his team to be challenging for promotion to the Barclays Premier League, but they are nineteenth and Warnock – the chairman’s eighth manager in seven years – is expected to bring back the good times to Selhurst Park and win promotion within two years.

“I’m looking for success and Neil knows that managing in the Championship is not success,” Jordan said. “There is no one better for the job because Neil gets his players playing and he gets them going. I don’t mind watching my team lose 9-0 as long as they die for the cause.”