No Palace talk for focused Wanderer Popovic

Western Sydney Wanderers coach Tony Popovic says he has not been contacted about the vacant manager’s job at former club Crystal Palace and is focused on getting his A-League side into the Asian Champions League semi-finals.

Popovic, a former captain and assistant coach at Palace, has been linked by media reports to the vacancy at Selhurst Park left by the abrupt departure of Tony Pulis just before the start of the Premier League season.

However, the extraordinary story of the Wanderers, a club built from scratch in 2012 who have reached the A-League final in their first two seasons, has been all about overcoming huge odds and Popovic would not be surprised if they did it again.

Their passage to the last eight – only the second Australian side to achieve the feat after Adelaide United – has already included wins over South Korea’s 2012 Asian champions Ulsan Hyundai and Japan’s J.League champions Sanfrecce Honda.