Iain: Johnson will not leave

14 April 2012

Crystal Palace are bracing themselves for a battle to hold on to star striker Andrew Johnson after relegation from the Premiership.

Manager Iain Dowie and chairman Simon Jordan want to keep the England international to spearhead their bid to return to the top flight.

They are expecting offers from other clubs after Johnson finished as the league's top scorer from this country, notching his 21st goal with a penalty in the 2-2 draw at Charlton yesterday which narrowly failed to save Palace from the drop.

Liverpool and Newcastle could revive their interest in the 24-yearold during what could be a summer of changes at Selhurst Park with the futures of 12 players now uncertain.

But Palace are ready to hold Johnson to the contract he signed last October which commits him to them for another four years.

Dowie said: "Good players will attract speculation. Andy is a Premiership player and that is the fact of the matter. He has scored 21 goals, which is a magnificent achievement, but he has signed for us for four more years. Until somebody tells me different, I know he will turn up for pre-season training."

Jordan has repeatedly said that Palace do not have to sell Johnson and that he is prepared to reject big-money offers. The club will receive Premiership parachute payments over the next two seasons if they remain outside the top flight and are reasonably well set up to cope with relegation financially.

But whether they can convince Johnson to stay remains to be seen. As loyal as he is to Dowie and Palace, the striker wants a chance to secure a place in England's World Cup squad next year and it is highly unlikely that he could do that from the Championship.

Other players' futures at the club are uncertain after relegation for a range of different reasons.

Wayne Routledge, Dougie Freedman, Darren Powell and Danny Granville are among those out of contract and Nicola Ventola and Gonzalo Sorondo were only on loan from Inter Milan. Goalkeeper Gabor Kiraly is likely to attract transfer interest and several others will be surplus to requirements.

However, Dowie has indicated he should be staying and has already started planning for next season but, like most at the club, will need a day or two to get over yesterday's drama before moving on.

Palace went behind to a first-half goal from Bryan Hughes before Freedman equalised in the 58th minute. Johnson put them ahead from the spot after 71 minutes when Jon Fortune handled in the area and Dowie was angry the defender was only booked. Fortune went on to score Charlton's crucial second goal eight minutes from time which, combined with West Brom's win over Portsmouth, relegated Palace.

Dowie believes referee Mark Clattenburg got a vital decision wrong. He said: "I don't know how the fellow stayed on the pitch if it was a deliberate handball."

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Iain: Johnson will not leave

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