Palace defender Matt Lawrence knows that the Eagles will have to dig deep this weekend, when they travel north to face a Leeds United team fighting for survival.

The Whites slipped to bottom of the table in the Championship following last week's defeat at Norwich City and now know that they need results to improve in their remaining games if they are to avoid the drop to League One.

With Dennis Wise in charge at Elland Road now, versatile Lawrence knows exactly what to expect having worked under Wise during his time with Millwall.

Lawrence, along with fellow Palace team-mates Darren Ward and Paul Ifill, was a major player in Wise's side at the Den which saw them reach the FA Cup Final in 2004 and launch a charge for the play-offs in the same year.

So after experiencing the management style of the former Chelsea and England midfielder at first hand, the versatile 32-year-old is well aware of what is in store for the Eagles on Saturday.

"We know it's going to be a hard game because Leeds are fighting for their lives and they need to win probably 50 per cent of their games or they'll go down," said Lawrence, ahead of the trip to Yorkshire.

"I know Dennis very well and I know he'll have them firing so it will be a hard game."

There is something of a feeling of disbelief amongst the Championship ranks that Leeds, with their large squad of players, currently find themselves in this position but after playing in this division over the last few years, Lawrence has seen how numerous 'bigger' clubs have dropped out of it.

"When you look at their team on paper, they have an extremely strong side," observed the Northampton born ace.

"But nobody is ever too good to go down and we've seen people like Forest, Manchester City, Bradford and Sheffield Wednesday, who have all been in the Premiership, go down.

"It can happen to anyone when you're on a bad run and confidence is low, but it is a surprise to see them there.

"Hopefully under Dennis and with Ken Bates as Chairman they have a solid base now and I'd like to see them stay up, obviously for Dennis.

"It is tough when things are going badly though as it resonates throughout the club and it's a hard battle."

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