January 28 2004

Iain Dowie

Iain Dowie is set to enter the transfer market this week, to bolster his squad for the rest of the season, writes Joseph O'Shea.

Having established Palace in mid-table with ten points from five league games, Dowie has been given funds to add to his squad by chairman Simon Jordan and told he does not have to sell.

With the Premiership transfer window set to close on Saturday, Dowie admits he has received enquiries but is determined to hold onto his players, especially 16 goal striker Andy Johnson.

Dowie said: "There have been one or two tentative enquiries, but nothing that has come to fruition. Nothing has come that the chairman has been excited about or wanted to do. He wants to give me the best opportunity to keep my players, which is positive."

Despite reported interest from Portsmouth’s Harry Redknapp, Dowie is pleased no one has tried to buy Johnson. He said: "There have been no enquiries and the answer would be a firm no."

Out-of-contract Julian Gray has also impressed his new manager, who is trying to persuade the 24-year-old to commit his future to the club.

Dowie said: "I want to keep him here. I want him to be part of my plans going forward. He’s a good athlete and he’s got an abundance of ability."

Top of Dowie’s wish-list is a goalkeeper after Thomas Myhre’s loan spell expired last week and he returned to Sunderland. Although Dowie still hopes Myhre will sign on a permanent basis, personal terms and interest from other clubs make the move unlikely, and he will move to bring in another keeper this week.

He said: "Thomas has done great for us but we clearly need a new keeper, that’s without question. As we speak that’s something we are looking to do.

"We will have to wait and see whether there is anything that can be done with Thomas. There’s one or two clubs that may be interested, and we are not going to get involved in a Dutch auction."

"I have got a number of targets but there is someone in particular I’d like. Hopefully something will happen shortly."

Dowie is insistent that he will not fuel transfer speculation by talking about transfer targets in the media.

When asked whether he had made a bid for Wimbledon’s highly rated centre back Mikele Leigertwood who has made 62 senior starts, aged just 21, Dowie responded: "No comment."

"I will talk chapter and verse when we sign someone, but I will not do my transfer dealings in the media."

But Leigertwood’s former team mate Michael Hughes said: "He’s a fantastic centre back and a future England player."

Palace are quietly starting to add to their squad, a process which started with Mark Hudson’s month long loan from Fulham and is set to continue with a loan deal for Newcastle United’s young defender Gary Caldwell. The 21-year-old brother of Newcastle regular Stephen, Caldwell has been on loan at four different clubs.

Dowie’s brother Bob, is working informally as a scout for Palace alongside his job as a sales director, but Iain is hoping he can spot similar talent which helped Oldham make £500,000 from an initial outlay of just £20,000 on players like Fitz Hall.

Dowie said: "He (Bob) is very much involved in the loop, and we are hoping to formalise that because he’s very good at what he does."

Striker Jermaine Brown, 21, who scored a solo effort for the reserves in the 3-1 win against Millwall on Wednesday is one trialist who has been brought in, after being released by Arsenal and Colchester.

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