After suffering an horrendous run of results, Crystal Palace are now unbeaten in four matches and last weekend's comfortable 3-0 victory against QPR lifted the Eagles to 16th in the table. Peter Taylor was coming under increasing pressure to turn things around at Selhurst Park, but his team's recent results have got the Palace boss insisting that a play-off spot is still within their grasp. Dougie Freedman, who has started just three league games this season, followed up his midweek goal against Wolves with another against Rangers, and the Scottish striker is now hoping for a lengthy run in the side. Givemefootball's Mark Shail is the man armed with the questions.
Q:
YOU MUST BE DELIGHTED WITH YOUR CONTRIBUTION IN THE LAST TWO GAMES?
A:
Yes I am, obviously starting only three games this season is disappointing, but I'm pleased to have scored in my last two games and hopefully I can now keep my place in the side. We've known all along that we are a good side, it was just a question of producing the form that we knew we were capable of.
Q:
HAVE THE LAST FEW RESULTS BEEN A RELIEF FOR THE PLAYERS?
A:
I don't think relief is the right word, it's more a satisfaction that we've managed to deliver the performances we know we can. Those results have lifted us up the table a few places and now we've got something to build on.
Q:
WHAT WERE THE REASONS BEHIND THE SLUMP IN FORM?
A:
I think it was a combination of a lot of different things going on, but one of the main problems was that we were short on confidence. We signed a number of new players in the summer and it took a while for those players to gel with the existing players that were already here and obviously a bad run of results didn't help. But now things seem to be clicking into place.
Q:
ONE OF THOSE NEW SIGNINGS, STRIKER SHEFKI KUQI, TOOK TIME TO SETTLE IN DIDN'T HE?
A:
Having joined us for £2.5 million in the summer I think the management thought he was going to deliver straight away, but that didn't happen and maybe he lost a bit of confidence because it's never easy at a new club. But on Saturday he showed what he could do by scoring a great goal. There are signs that we are starting to form a good understanding because he set my goal up and returned the favour to him.
Q:
IT MUST HAVE BEEN FRUSTRATING FOR YOU NOT GETTING A CHANCE IN THE STARTING LINE-UP EVEN WHEN THE SIDE WAS STRUGGLING?
A:
It was frustrating because every player wants to be in the team. But I'm an experienced enough to deal with it and I knew that if I kept working hard on the training ground my chance would come. I kept coming on at the end of games for ten or 15 minutes, which isn't ideal, but at least I was still involved and in the manager's thoughts. It was just a matter of taking my opportunity when it came.
Q:
ARE THE PLAY-OFFS STILL A POSSIBILITY?
A:
If you do the sums it is certainly still possible but it's going to be difficult. However, if we continue to play well and pick up points consistently we are more than capable, it's a question of reproducing the form we've showed over the last few matches. As for predicting we'll make the play-offs, ask me again in March, then I'll put my neck on the line.
Q:
TURNING TO THE INTERNATIONAL SCENE, WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF SCOTLAND'S UPTURN IN FORM OVER THE LAST 12 MONTHS?
A:
The Berti Vogts' reign turned into a bit of a fiasco and I don't think the Scottish public ever really accepted him or what he was trying to do. He kept chopping and changing the side and come the end he was giving caps away cheaply. But Walter Smith has come in and turned things around. He knows both the Scottish and English leagues inside out he's managed to get the best out of the players. In my opinion this is the best the national side has looked for around six or seven years.
