Dowie sees the light and prays for a miracle

Iain Dowie may not be able to turn water into wine yet, but if he keeps Crystal Palace in the Premiership he could be crowned football's new Messiah.

The manager was showered with praise for last season's amazing promotion and he thinks maintaining top-flight status would win him further acclaim.

Dowie said: "A lot of people have said what we did last time was a miracle and I am fortunate that one or two managers have told me they thought of it like that.

"If we stayed up it might rank alongside the Second Coming." Palace's 1-0 win against Liverpool last weekend - their first victory since February - has seen them climb out of the relegation zone, by virtue of goal difference, and boosted confidence.

Dowie said: "Staying up would be a great achievement, colossal. This is an enormously difficult league, but nothing would surprise me from this group of players. We are an emerging side with a lot of young talent. We were on a bad, dark run and sometimes you need something, you need a spark of light.

"We could see the light at the end of the tunnel after Saturday's win, but now we have three games left and have to forget about that."

Another boost could come in the next few days if midfielder Tom Soares signs a new four-year contract.

The 18-year-old agreed a three-year deal last summer, but is being rewarded for his progress, and Dowie said talks with Darren Powell and Danny Granville, whose contracts expire shortly, are on-going.