Crystal Palace boss Iain Dowie has issued a war cry to his disappointed players that the Eagles promotion push will start next Sunday against Brighton.

Saturday's defeat against leaders Sheffield United has left the Eagles 20 points behind the Blades, but even though Dowie's men have two games in hand, the Palace boss feels his side need to catch up quickly to be in with a realistic automatic promotion chance.

Dowie said: "We must do as much as we can to catch them and that starts in our next match down at Brighton.

"We played against a side that are top of the league and we were not outplayed and can take away our attacking play as a major positive."

Dowie picked out striker Dougie Freedman for special praise following his performance on Saturday, where the Scotsman notched his 99th goal for the Eagles from the spot.

Freedman has revelled playing alongside Clinton Morrison in recent weeks and his form will cause a major selection headache for the Palace manager when striker Andrew Johnson returns from injury.

Dowie added: "Dougie is returning to the form that we all know and love.

"He looks a real player at the moment and long may it continue."