March 3 2004

Darren Powell

Iain Dowie insists that defender DARREN POWELL still has a future at Palace, despite Steve Coppell's claim that Reading's offer was accepted last week, by Joseph O'Shea

The 27-year-old defender was signed from Brentford by Trevor Francis for £400,000 in August 2002, and proved an instant hit making 46 appearances in his first season.

A persistent thigh injury picked up against Ipswich in October has restricted him to just nine appearances this term, but after four months on the sidelines, he is now back in training.

Former Eagles and Brentford boss Coppell announced last week that a fee, believed to be around £210,000, had been agreed, but that the Royals' would wait for him to prove his fitness.

He said: "DARREN is somebody I know who can come in and do a job for us. But he is injured at the moment so there is no rush to sign him.

"We have agreed a fee with Palace and it is one we can afford."

Palace currently have five centre-backs including recent £155,000 signing Mikele Leigertwood, and Fulham loanee Mark Hudson, so when POWELL was withdrawn from the reserves last week, the club looked ready to cash in, despite the player's public statement that he didn't want to leave.

But this week Iain Dowie suggested he knew little about the proposed transfer and said POWELL is still part of his plans.

He said: "As far as I am aware, DARREN is very much still our player. If other people want to talk about it that's up to them.

"DARREN is a player I haven't seen enough of because he has been injured, but I know that he was terrific last year. He is a valued squad member and now it's up to him to get back in the side."

Dowie has been getting POWELL up for early morning walks on Saturdays to aid his recovery , and is yet to see him play, so two months into an 18 month contract, the Palace boss seemed understandably disappointed that such a key decision was apparently taken over his head by chairman Simon Jordan.

He said: "Decisions on players' futures will remain between me, the player and the other club involved.

"We have got centre backs here that are doing OK at the moment and I can't wait for DARREN to get fit.

"I have got 18 months on my contract and I need to get results. That doesn't stop the way I plan, I plan for the long term, but nonetheless we needed to make sure. So I went and got Mikele Leigertwood and Mark Hudson."

With managerless Southampton admiring Dowie's success, POWELL's destiny could prove an indicator to whether the manager stays at Selhurst beyond the summer of 2005. He is unlikely to want to if he does not have control of the playing squad.

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