It was out with the old and in with the new as Palace boss Trevor Francis put a summer of speculation behind him and looked forward to the new term.

A busy week has seen the long-running saga of Clinton Morrison's £4.25m move to Birmingham City finalised, and the arrival of Andrew Johnson in return.

With midfielder Shaun Derry set to put pen to paper in a £400,000 move from their Division One rivals Portsmouth, and former Birmingham striker Dele Adebola currently training with the club, additions to the squad before the season look likely, with Francis admitting he was looking to bring in at least one more player before the season opener with Preston North End.

Johnson is a player who Francis obviously admires, and sees the 21-year-old striker as more than just a make-weight in the Morrison deal.

He said: "When you look at his age, there is so much more to come from him. He is a player Crystal Palace will benefit from having."

Drawing a line under the last few weeks, Francis said: "I wish Clinton well. He did very well for this football club, but we will continue to get on with our own job here.

"Last season we made a tremendous improvement on the season before, and we will endeavour to improve on tenth this year."