Chris Coleman keen to distance himself from managerial link with old club Crystal Palace
Welsh boss, an OBE, jokes: 'I'd love to go back to the Palace, but I don't think Prince Charles is ready for me to go back just yet'
CHRIS COLEMAN has distanced himself from the Crystal Palace job.
The Welsh boss is one of the favourites alongside Roberto Mancini, Claudio Ranieri and Slavisa Jokanovic to succeed Sam Allardyce at Selhurst Park.
But when asked directly if he fancies swapping international football for the Premier League, Coleman was quick to joke about his visit to Buckingham Palace where he was awarded an OBE.
Said the former Palace central defender: "I'm happy to talk about the Palace. I'd love to go back to the Palace, but I don't think Prince Charles is ready for me to go back just yet. I had a good time there!
"I can't control what's said about me outside Wales. I don't care about it. I only care about preparing Wales properly.
"I'm looking forward to this game with Serbia for more than one reason and I'm not thinking past that. I can't afford to.
"Lots of things are being said on the back of comments I made at the start of the campaign when I signed a new contract, but honestly all I think about is Wales."
But for how long?
Having led Wales to the semi-finals of Euro 2016, Coleman has stated that the current World Cup qualifying campaign will be his last as manager.
He has previously been linked with Premier League jobs at Swansea and Hull City in the season just gone.
Ahead of their trip to Serbia on June 11, Wales are third in Group D behind joint leaders Serbia and Republic of Ireland.
Coleman has named a 26-man squad for a training camp in Portugal next month to prepare for the game in Belgrade. The suspended Gareth Bale and Neil Taylor miss out, as do the injured James Collins and Andy King.
Exeter City's 16-year-old defender Ethan Ampadu, former Wales Under 21 captain Gethin Jones, Wolves' midfielder Lee Evans and Barnsley winger Marley Watkins are all included.
Liverpool youngsters Harry Wilson and Ben Woodburn have also made the cut.