March 9 2006

Shaun Derry

Former Crystal Palace midfielder Shaun Derry insists he did not have a point to prove before returning to Selhurst Park on Saturday to help Leeds to victory, writes Sami Mokbel.

Derry produced a battling performance against his former club to help Leeds cement their play-off aspirations and to pile the pressure on faltering Sheffield United for an automatic promotion spot.

But despite returning to the club that off-loaded him to Leeds in February 2005 he felt he did not come back to Selhurst Park to prove a point.

The 28-year-old said: "It obviously adds extra spice to the game when you come back to an old club.

"It's always nice to come back to a previous club and prove a point but as I said before the game I didn't feel I had a point to prove."

The former Sheffield United man is sure Palace will remain in the promotion shake-up: "I think Palace will be there or thereabouts come the end of the season because they have a strong side, they have a good manager and they have a good squad."

Derry, who spent the evening after the game with Eagles defender Danny Butterfield, said he was delighted with the reception he received from the Palace faithful.

He said: "I thought the reception I got was fantastic and I would like to say thank you to the fans because it was a bit of a topsy-turvy time that I had at Palace and perhaps I didn't play my best football.

"But it culminated in a great play-off victory and I don't think the fans have forgotten about that.

"I shook hands with a number of them (Palace players) but you're out there trying to kick each other for 90 minutes.

"They are all friends here and it's a friendly club and it goes deeper than just playing football."

Live Croydon Guardian text commentary