Palace's play-off hopes were dealt a blow when an under-strength side lost 1-0 at home to Sheffield United.

The Eagles dropped to eighth place when the only goal of the game was scored by Michael Brown, with Trevor Francis left counting the cost of his missing players.

He said: "When we lost at home to Coventry, I was concerned with the loss of players like Popovic, Symons and Granville for important games.

"You can't do without three key defenders and it has been a big factor in our recent form. If you add to that Murphy, who was missing here, the team really lacked resilience.

"I said prior to the game with 12 fixtures remaining, we need to win seven to put us in contention.

"Obviously this has made it a lot harder, but we have good away form and it is important that we take some points our trips to Barnsley and Grimsby."

The game and performance of both sets of players was as dreadful as the weather.

Francis' 4-3-3 formation was clearly not working as there was no width and Ade Akinbiyi and Clinton Morrison were not getting any service. Akinbiyi needs a goal very soon as his confidence looks rock-bottom.

On the hour-mark, Palace target Brown received a through-ball from the halfway line, cut inside Dean Austin on the left and fired home past Matt Clarke from 15 yards.

Second-half substitutions failed to produce a goal as Palace lost their third consecutive home game.

Francis added: "I think both sides struggled to play to their potential. The game's only high spot was the skill from Brown. But this does not take anything away from Sheffield United they had a strong defence, their players closed down the ball and overall had a strong back four.

"There is still a long way to go but we can't afford to lose the home games we are losing."

Francis expects three players to have returned to the side for last night's (Tuesday) trip to Barnsley.

He added: "I am hoping that Dougie Freedman will have recovered from his sickness because he was badly missed. Riihilahti has served his suspension and Murphy can also be selected again."

But Simon Jordan has told Francis he expects the team to finish in the play-offs. He said: "The expectation at this club is very high. The team has a realistic chance of getting into one of the play-off spots and getting promoted.

"To be blunt, with the size and quality of our squad and the investment I have made in players, I expect us to be promoted."

On Saturday, Palace travel to Grimsby.