A number of Palace stars have been selected to represent their countries over the next few weeks. Eire International Clinton Morrison is in Ireland's squad for their friendly against Russia on 13th February. The match will be played at Landsdowne Road.

Jovan Kirovski has been picked by the U.S to play in a number of warm-up friendlies. He will play games against Italy on 13th February, Germany on 27th March, and Ireland on 17th April. All these fixtures are away.

Despite being injured Kit Symons will attend a Welsh training camp between 9th-11th February.

Academy players Wayne Routledge and Gary Borrowdale have both been included in the England U-17 squad to play Slovenia on 13th February.

* After a period of bad weather and constant football the Selhurst pitch is finally enjoying a well earned rest. Head Groundsman John Plummer revealed that his team had been working hard to improve the surface ahead of the Wimbledon v Palace derby.

"We have really been using this time off to work on the pitch. We have fed it, seeded it and done our best to get the seeds germinated."

* On Saturday both the U-17's and U-19's drew 2-2 with local rivals Millwall. Academy Director Derek Broadley was pleased with the results: "Our boys performed very well against two strong, physical teams. We played some good football and both matches were very entertaining."

The U-17's fixture was at Millwall and the goalscorers were Karem Bashkal and Tariq Nabil. The U-19's match was at the Beckenham Training Ground and midfielder Craig Dobson scored both goals. Wayne Routledge and Gary Borrowdale came through the ninety minutes without injury and will train with the England U-17 squad this week. On Wednesday they are both expected to play in the friendly against Slovenia.

The next Academy matches are on Saturday 16th February. The U-17's play Peterborough at the training Ground, while the U-19's are away at Chelsea. Both fixtures kick off at 11am.

* Crystal Palace's Nationwide League Division One match at Crewe Alexandra has been moved back twenty four hours due to live television.

The match at Gresty Road scheduled for 6th April will now be played on Sunday 7th April, kick-off 2.15pm. The game will be shown on ITV1 in the London and Granada areas.

* The Guests for next Monday's Fans Night are Ade Akinbiyi and Dave Swindlehurst. As usual the event will be held in the Glaziers Lounge at Selhurst Park. Doors open at 6.30pm and fans are advised to arrive early for the best seats.

By Terry Byfield.