The former Arsenal trainee is still keen to prove he is worth a place in the starting line-up but claimed no one at the club will be allowed to get overexcited about the West Ham game.
Black said: "Things have been business as usual for us since we got through to the final.
"It is exciting, but the team who keep their feet on the ground and treat this as just another game will probably be the ones who relax and play their football.
"We have been doing the same routines we have been doing all season. Why change anything when you have got a runaway train going in the right direction?"
Apart from Gray's absence, Dowie is unlikely to be forced into any other changes as he has a fully fit squad.
His West Ham counterpart, Alan Pardew, is just as fortunate and both managers can expect a fantastic atmosphere at Cardiff 's Millennium Stadium.
Palace and West Ham were in the process of selling their few remaining tickets last night and are confident of taking up their full 33,800 allocations.
Pardew's No2 at West Ham, Peter Grant, believes this game, rather than Manchester United's 3-0 victory against Millwall in the FA Cup in Cardiff on Saturday, is the key end-of-season final.
He said: "I would far rather get in the Premiership than play in the FA Cup Final. The FA Cup is one day. The Premiership is a season and hopefully more."
