AN emphatic victory against fellow-strugglers West Brom lifted Crystal Palace out of the Premiership bottom three, and gave a huge psychological boost to Iain Dowie and his players.

With Blackburn going down heavily at Chelsea and Southampton finding rhythm and goals hard to come by at home against Birmingham, Saturday's result perhaps gives the Eagles genuine belief that they can avoid the drop.

After a dismal performance against Bolton last week, the players needed to turn on the style to restore the fans' faith in their side.

And the men in red and blue duly obliged, with red-hot striker Andy Johnson and veteran midfielder Michael Hughes at the heart of everything.

The win was Palace's second home victory this term, following their defeat of Fulham, and if the Eagles can start to pick up points consistenly away from home, the season may not end in relegation.

Speaking after the game, man-of-the-match Hughes praised his team-mates but cautioned against over-confidence.

The 33-year-old said: "It's fantastic looking at the table. Psychologically, to be out of the bottom three of the table is a huge spur.

"But we're not getting carried away we have to keep doing what we've been doing, and we'll have a chance.

"We thought this league was going to be a lot quicker and more physical than the first division, but maybe when you're outside of the Premiership looking in, it always looks better.

"We've re-assessed the situation and have come to the conclusion that we've got to play football, and we're good enough to do that."

Saturday's game was decided by a Johnson brace, after defender Fitz Hall had given the home side the lead with a free header after five minutes.

Dowie later claimed Johnson was not far behind van Nistelrooy and Henry in the list of the Premiership's best strikers, and whilst this may have been hyperbole, on current form he must be ranked in the top five or six.

Tonight Johnson and co travel to the Valley to play arch-rivals Charlton in a Carling Cup clash.