Trevor Francis has revealed his frustration at Palace's failure to turn performances into points and called on the fans to play their part in defeating Brighton this Saturday.

Palace fans voiced their disappointment at Palace's fifth consecutive league draw, by calling for the manager's head as the Eagles let a two goal lead slip against Wimbledon.

Francis is at a loss to explain why his team, which has lost just of one of its last eleven games, is not converting dominance into wins.

He said: "I have been in management for about 12 or 13 years, and this is the most unusual and frustrating period I have experienced, because of the number of times we have been in position to win football games and not done it."

His injury hit squad has taken a measly 14 points from 13 games, but Francis identified several positives, including the performances of five cut price signings, Andrew Johnson, Dele Adebola, Danny Butterfield, Shaun Derry and Darren Powell.

He said: "It's all about results but I think the majority of supporters can recognise that the team I have put together is quite an exciting one. We are good to watch, we do play good football, we do pass the ball, we create chances and score goals."

On the verge of the first Palace-Brighton league derby for 15 years, a fixture that many feel will make or break Francis' tenure, the beleaguered boss made an appeal to supporters. He said: "The fans have got to remain optimistic and I am asking them for understanding of the situation.

"My message to the supporters is do what they feel is necessary - if they want to boo or have a go at me they will do it. But as a manager I am very confident about the squad I have put together and I am very optimistic about the rest of the season, because the product I am watching (though not the finished article), I feel is as good as most in the league."

The Selhurst return of former Palace boss Steve Coppell, and Simon Rodger, released by Francis in the summer, will add extra spice to a fixture both sets of fans see as "must win".

Francis said: "It's going to be really atmospheric with massive away support. So I am hoping that our supporters will out-shout Brighton and really get behind the players to help us to what will be a much-deserved victory."

Club captain Curtis Fleming is struggling to overcome a medial ligament problem for Saturday, but stresses the significance of the fixture.

He said: "We feel as though we lost on Saturday, but Brighton is a great game for us to bounce back and the best way to do that is to win. It has been drilled into the lads that it's such a massive game."

Dougie Freedman will return from the ankle injury which kept him out on Saturday, and Darren Powell returns from a one-match ban.

Nic Michopolous's one-month loan from Burnley expires on Thursday and unless Alex Kolinko is not fit to face Brighton, he is unlikely to play for Palace again.

Francis said: "Alex came through a fitness test yesterday and if he is fit for Saturday, then in all probability Nic will go back to Burnley."

Kit Symons is still a couple of weeks away from returning, while Steven Thomson, Ade Akinbiyi, Matt Clarke and Jamie Smith are all long term absentees.

October 23, 2002 13:30