As predicted, it's Watford in the play-offs and there's 180 minutes of drama on the way.

Deep down Dowie will be happy to play the Hornets and not make the long trip up north to play a second leg tie in front of a hostile crowd on a Tuesday or Wednesday night.

In recent history finishing sixth has been a good omen for Championship clubs with Palace and West Ham both getting promoted despite occupying the lowest play-off placing over the past two years.

But on this occasion Palace have stayed in sixth spot due to the inability of the chasing pack to catch them unlike the previous years where the Eagles and the Hammers have made late runs to grab the final play-off place.

To put it into simple context Palace are not in form and though he would not admit it, that will worry Dowie.

Form is not necessarily an important factor going into a one-off game. But play-off semi-finals are two-legged affairs and the Eagles have not won two games on the spin since the turn of the year.

One win in five games hasn't built up the desired momentum wanted by the Palace boss going into the most important part of the season, which will spark some soul searching and motivational talks at the Palace training ground this week.

There is no doubt Dowie will have his players ready and this is where the Palace boss will earn his money, turning a team out of form into top dogs for three games.

It's a tough challenge but the solution I think he's got in his locker.