CRYSTAL Palace manager George Burley bemoaned his side’s luck in front of goal after Saturday’s 0-0 draw against fellow strugglers Hull City.

In a game of few chances, Palace came closest when both Neil Danns and Pablo Counago were denied by last-ditch tackles from the Tigers defence with shots destined to find the net.

The result does neither side any real favours in the Championship, particularly Palace, who missed a golden opportunity to climb out of the bottom three, leaving Burley to rue his side’s bad luck.

He said: “You could say it was a missed opportunity but I think we were unfortunate.

“We had three or four point blank blocks where the ball is going in and then we didn’t manage to score but overall I was pleased with the way we played.

“We dominated it, passed it well, created opportunities and then unfortunately we had to change things because James Vaughan was forced off with an ankle injury.

“It was a game we deserved to win but we didn’t and sometimes that happens in football.

“On another day we would have won that game.”

Sean Scannell made his long awaited return after a lengthy lay off with a knee and groin injury and Burley is pleased to have him back in fold.

He said: “It was a gamble with Sean because he hasn’t played many reserve games and has been out for a long, long time.

“We felt if we put him on the bench, he could come on and give us a little bit of sparkle.

“Is he ready to start a game?

“Probably not, but Sean is a player who has shown, particularly last season, what a good prospect he is and it is nice to see him back in action.”

With the season almost at the halfway point, many of the Palace faithful will be feeling a little nervous with the club sitting in the relegation places and will be hoping to avoid another nerve-wrenching end to the season like the last.

However, the Eagles chief was quick to remind everyone that there is no quick fix in football.

Burley added: “The club is a long term project.

“When I came in June we had 10 players and it is a case of building. We have Paddy McCarthy, Darren Ambrose, Wilfried Zaha and now Julian Speroni all signed up on longer contracts.

“We are building for the future and that is what we are looking to do because there is no short term fix.

“It would have been nice to have had four wins in a row at home but it is three wins and a draw, so hopefully we can push on in the next game.”