Neil Warnock has revealed that attempts to bring in a loan signing have been defeated by the Football League.

The Palace manager admitted that he thought having a squad under 20 players was enough for an emergency loan even while the club is in administration, but as it transpired the limit turned out to be much less.

"We are down to 19 players at the minute. I have asked the Football League if we can have someone in on loan but disappointingly I have just found out we can't. They have come back and said the 20 number is for pre-season when you are putting a squad together.

"I thought that if you are below 20 players they will let you bring somebody in, but we are embargoed and are down to 19 players, including McCarthy who has been out since November, so we have just got to get on with what we have got."

With the loan route now firmly blocked, Neil admitted that the first team might have to be supplemented by youth team players further on in the season. Right now though he is reluctant to poach any of Gary Issott's youngsters for fear of disrupting their FA Youth Cup preparations.  

"We have to get goals from somewhere. We are not prolific as you saw on Saturday. I thought we did well Saturday without scoring, so we have got to try and find it from somewhere else.

"Whether it is one of the youth cup lads we have to bring in to the squad, I don't know, but they play on Thursday so I don't really want to disrupt them. They have had a great run and they go to Newcastle tomorrow for that game, so I don't want to disrupt their preparations to have a young lad on the bench."

As for current first team news, one injury concern of late has been Neil Danns who has been forced out with a troubling back injury.

Mick Jones told www.cpfc.co.uk earlier this week that the midfielder will not be risked unnecessarily for the Villa game with a trip Doncaster only three days later.

Neil was equally adamant that Danns would not be played at Villa if it meant losing him again ahead of a busy run of league games.

"He [Danns] has trained this morning partly. He stopped when we were doing the little game when he started stiffening a little bit. But in that sort of game it is a little bit false because you are involved all the time. 

"In the other training session we did where you are more game related he was okay in that. So with the adrenaline I am hoping he will give it a go to start the match, but I don't want him to start the match and be out for three weeks."

The defeat on Saturday to Coventry City meant that Palace dropped into the bottom three for the first time all season, and although Palace still have a game in hand on teams around them, relegation has suddenly become a very real concern.

"In my eyes Doncaster is far more important for us this week. We have got to stay up and get geared up for that.

"So if there is any doubt for anyone [for Villa] then I don't want to play them because I want them for Saturday. We will have a roll call in the morning because there are a couple struggling who I will have to leave out.

"But it is difficult against a team like that [Villa] because there is now way I want us to roll under. There will be 2,500 fans there and we have to try and give them a game for as long as we can. That is why we will be practicing penalties tomorrow."

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