April 30, 2001 15:46: Angry shouts of Smith out' rang around Selhurst Park after Crystal Palace's 2-0 defeat against Wolves on Saturday.

And barely 24 hours later, the fans got their wish as Alan Smith, and his assistant Ray Houghton were sacked by club chairman Simon Jordan.

Firing the man he brought in to replace fans' favourite Steve Coppell was a hard decision', explained Jordan.

"Through all the disappointments there have been positive strides made within the structure of the club" he said.

The Eagles faithful seemed in no doubt as to what decision should be made. Choruses of There's only one Steve Coppell' and stand up if you want Smith out' were shouted with as much fervour as any other chant this season.

And as the Eagles battled in vain to claw their way back against the 10 men of Wolves, disgruntled supporters threw their season tickets on to the sodden turf as a token of their disgust.

And who can blame them? They have seen their side transformed from one capable of beating UEFA Cup finalists Liverpool, to a team spiralling into Division Two.

If Smith's sacking was inevitable, the timing was still questionable. Chief Scout Steve Kember was left to pick up the pieces and take charge of the Eagles for one of the most important games in the club's history.

A defeat in Tuesday night's match at Portsmouth will send Palace into despair and Nationwide Division Two.

But victory for the Eagles will see them draw level on points with fourth-from-bottom Pompey, leaving the relegation decider to the final day of the season.

Then, if Palace, away to Stockport on Sunday, could achieve a better result than Portsmouth, who host Barnsley, they would dramatically avoid the drop.

It is a tall order for any side to rescue themselves from such a position, let alone a side who have just lost their manager and coach.

But captain Dean Austin told Sky Sports he believed action had to be taken.

"Something had to be done. This has been a very bad period for the club and the players have not done what was needed in the last few months."

And after the Wolves defeat, Smith himself sensed the writing was on the wall: "I took over from someone who was, and is still, very popular, and if I had my way I would have had no objections if my predecessor (Steve Coppell) had still been here. I could certainly do without some of the things I have had to put up with.

"But I can, at least, look at myself in the mirror and say it wasn't for lack of hard work, honesty or effort and I'm not sure I've seen that in certain departments on or off the field", he admitted.

Honesty and candour had never been Smith's problem. The two-times Eagles boss was never short of quip or snappy retort in interviews and he forged a close relationship with young stars like Clinton Morrison and Mikael Forssell.

But unfortunately for Smith, there aren't many managers who would survive a dismal run of just two wins in 17 matches.

When the season finishes, Jordan will have to be Eagle-eyed in his search for a replacement.

But the quality of personnel he can attract will depend heavily on what division Palace are playing in next season.