Eagles may fly away if they lose, says Dowie

Iain Dowie admits his Crystal Palace team could fall apart if the Eagles suffer play-off final heartbreak against West Ham on Saturday.

Key players Julian Gray, Michael Hughes, Aki Riihilahti and Tony Popovic are all out of contract and being watched by scouts from the Premiership.

All four have yet to be offered new deals and Eagles boss Dowie concedes Palace are playing “a risky game” by postponing contract talks until after the final.

He said: “Premiership scouts will be looking at them and it’s a risky game you play. Whatever happens if any of us have to part we’ll part as friends. I hope that doesn’t happen.

“It would worry me if no-one was looking at my players. But what can I do about it? I can’t affect that.

"We would like to have tied them up. We would like to keep players like Michael, Tony, Aki and Julian, they know that.

“Hopefully we can get this done and that will take care of itself. The four players who are out of contract have been instrumental in what we’ve done, they are at the heart of my thinking.

“But if we don’t go up we may struggle to sign the players we want to keep.”

Dowie has been promised a ‘sizeable’ war chest for new signings if Palace are promoted, but the future looks grim if the trip to the Millennium Stadium ends in tears.

Chairman Simon Jordan claims to have invested £32m (€48m) in the club and there will be no extra money available if Palace miss out on the estimated £25m (€37m) windfall which comes with promotion.

Dowie is determined not to let off-field matters distract his side from their chance of a return to the top flight after a six-year absence, saying: “I won’t let anything take my focus off what is a key game.”