Crystal Palace captain Paddy McCarthy wants his charges to draw on the experience of last season's relegation fight to get them out of their current predicament. A four game unbeaten run had taken the Eagles four points clear of the English Championship relegation zone and raised hopes the worst was over.

But last Saturday's 2-1 defeat to Coventry has plunged them deep back into the scramble for safety.

Sheffield United's 1-1 draw on Tuesday night leaves Palace only two points ahead of their rivals before the huge meeting with the Blades on Saturday.

"Listen, in an ideal world none of us want to go through what we did last season ever again," he told this is Croydon Today.

"We want to be as far up the table as we can be by the time the season draws to a close.

"But we're not kidding ourselves, we know we're in a dog fight now and we have to be ready for that situation. It looks like it will be a fight to the end.

"A lot of the lads who kept us up last year are still here and the gaffer was also heavily involved so we know what it takes to survive. That will only help us.

"We've got to take the lessons we learned and use them to our advantage."