Another improved performance but unfortunately another defeat meaning that an Xmas period that has seen only 1 point from 3 games, means that beating the drop is now an almost impossible task.
The Premier League table this morning does not make good reading, we have now played exactly half of the season and we are 10 points adrift of safety and with very little chance of escaping relegation bar a minor miracle.
There was no room for anything other than a victory in this game, and to be blunt with Palace now 14 points above us, the number of clubs that we can actually catch has narrowed to perhaps 2 and maybe 4, it is not just about how many points that we can get, but how quickly those clubs will put themselves out of reach.
There was a surprise on the team sheet at 1.45pm, as I predicted James Bree came in for Yuri Sugawara to give us strength, but I was shocked to see Big Les Ugochukwu on the bench and replaced by Joe Aribo.
Perhaps on reflection this was a question