Neil Warnock has made his first summer signing ahead of the 2008/09 Championship campaign in the form of Paddy McCarthy from Charlton Athletic for an undisclosed fee.

The central defender started his career at Manchester City before moving to Leicester City for £100,000 in 2005.

A year later the centre half was made captain of the Foxes and was soon snapped up by Alan Pardew's Charlton at the end of the 2005/06 season for £650,000.

Having made over 30 appearances for the Addicks last season including twice against Palace, the former U21 Republic of Ireland International has set his sights on getting one over his former club.

"They were two enjoyable games and it just caught me by surprise about how much rivalry there is between the two sides. I am hoping that next year we can get one over Charlton and get two wins against them for Palace this time round."

With the defender literally returning from his holiday last week, he admitted to the club's official website that it all came as a bit of a shock.

"It was a kind of a sudden thing really, a bolt out the blue. I knew about the move being a possibility for two weeks at most and then I got back from holiday just last week and it all kind of snowballed really

"I am glad that it has all been done and I can get my head down ready for the new season as a Crystal Palace player.

With hard-work being the foundation for any Neil Warnock side, McCarthy is no stranger to battling for a first team place, something that he had to do at the start of last season at The Valley.

"It took me a while to break into the team, I played in some of the early matches and then I was left out for the next few and it was a bit frustrating. I kept working hard on the training ground and waited for my chance and when that came along I took it with both hands and played the remainder of the season."