FORMER Palace midfielder Simon Osborn says boss Ian Holloway will "not give up" on getting Palace promotion to the Premier League.
Osborn, who played more than 70 games for the Eagles between 1990 and 1994, played alongside Holloway for Queens Park Rangers in his career and knows exactly what the Bristol-born man is like.
"Palace have got a good man there – you've got to remember he came in at a difficult time when Dougie left," the joint manager of Margate said.
"I played with Ian at Queens Park Rangers and he's an enthusiastic football guy who knows what he wants and he'll certainly be working the players as hard as he can.
"He will not give up one minute of trying to push Palace into the play-offs.
"He's a good manager, a man-manager, and as a player he was fantastic and helped me out when I first went to QPR in the Premier League.
"I'm hoping he can keep pushing Palace into the play-offs because he deserves it."
After such a successful campaign, Osborn says this is not the time to lose form while trying to nail down a play-off position, but if the Eagles were to miss out, the ex-professional says it will make the team even stronger for another go next season.
"I think Ian would be gutted in the position they're in if he couldn't keep them in the play-offs," he said.
"After everyone has worked so hard this season, this is not the time you want to drop out of those play-offs, so I'm sure they'll keep fighting like we know Palace do.
"They will be disappointed if they don't go up with two-thirds of the season gone, especially with the recent form.
"If they don't go up, the squad will be stronger from it for next year and strengthened in certain areas.
"The fans will be looking for another striker perhaps because without Glenn Murray they'll be thinking where are the goals going to come from."
With a potential play-off final against either arch-rivals Brighton or Dougie Freedman's Bolton Wanderers a big possibility, it could be a tasty end to the season.
And Osborn believes the club's owners will be wise in player recruitment over the summer after the sale of Wilfried Zaha.
"Palace are a club that have gone and changed the philosophy behind them, with the chairman and their people coming in and stabilising it," he said.
"There were administration issues over the years so I'm sure they've settled that down, but I'm sure they'll be sending scouts out to find players who will fit into the Palace way.
"A Palace versus Brighton play-off final would be a dream for some supporters, whereas Dougie has gone on and done well at Bolton, and a lot of people thought it was a strange decision to leave Palace at the time he did."
Watch the full interview on video on our website at www.thisiscroydontoday.co.uk/sport.
