'Palace must address lack of firepower'

Crystal Palace must add attacking firepower if they want to ease their fears of being dragged into a relegation battle, manager Neil Warnock said on Thursday.

Palace, who are 15th in the Premier League table with 13 points from 14 matches, are one point above the relegation zone after a 1-0 defeat by Aston Villa on Tuesday.

Ahead of a trip across London to play Mauricio Pochettino's Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, Warnock admitted his side have got work to do in front of goal if they are to start picking up points.

"We've had opportunities to win the games, we know we haven't got enough firepower really," Warnock told reporters.

"When you look at the other teams they've all got men, main strikers to select from.

"I think the lads are doing as well as they can. We do need improvement in that area, which we are looking to address in January.

"I can't fault the lads, we've got a good group. You could interview one of seven or eight managers who could say the same thing. That's the Premier League."

Palace come up against in-form Spurs striker Harry Kane at White Hart Lane on Saturday and Warnock said he wanted to sign the 21-year-old, who has scored 10 times this season, on loan in August.

"I tried to get him a few times when I came here," he said. "He is a good lad and you know what you are going to get with him.

"His first thought when he gets the ball is positive and I like players like that, who commit defenders. He obviously enjoys it, you can tell by the smile on his face."

Despite his side's struggles, Warnock believes as many as 10 clubs will be involved in a relegation scrap come the end of the season.

"I think everybody knows there's about nine or 10 clubs involved. It's almost like three divisions again," he said.

"I think a couple of years ago it was two divisions but it's definitely back to three again now.

"I think there's that group below the top two fighting out for the Champions League positions and then there's the bottom 10.