Palace boss plays down Iron defeat

Crystal Palace manager Dougie Freedman has played down the significance of Saturday's defeat by relegation rivals Scunthorpe.

The Eagles could have all but ensured their survival with a victory which would have left them nine points clear of their third-bottom opponents with four games remaining, but instead a 2-1 defeat has cut the gap to just three.

But Freedman preferred to focus on the progress his side have made since he took over from the axed George Burley with them lying second from bottom.


"We have given ourselves a real good chance to survive and survival is the key, not beating Scunthorpe," he said.

"The key factor is staying up and that is still in our hands.

"But we've got to play better than that, with more composure, and we need to attack with more purpose."

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