Adrian Boothroyd refused to concede that Watford's automatic promotion hopes are over after the 2-0 defeat at home to Crystal Palace.Second-half goals from substitute Paul Ifill and teenage winger Victor Moses gave Neil Warnock's side a vital win which lifted them to within a point of the Hornets and stretched Boothroyd's barren spell to one win in 12 games.

Boothroyd admitted West Brom look to have sealed the Championship but believes the fight for the second spot will go to the last day.

He said: "I genuinely believe that it will go to the wire.

"It's a blow but we can't keep relying on everyone else around us to mess it up.

"I think first place is gone now but second is still very much up for grabs."

Boothroyd saw striker Tamas Priskin hit the crossbar from a matter of yards minutes before Ifill's fine opener and believed that better finishing would have seen his side home.

He said: "We've created enough to win two or three games.

"I knew what Palace would be able to do and there's always a chance of creating with the pace they've got.

"We've created some unmissable chances and missed them. If you do that then that is what you get. We should have won 4-0."

Palace boss Warnock insisted that he expected Ifill to score after throwing him on as a substitute for Scott Sinclair.

The winger brilliantly controlled a long ball with his right foot, lifted it over Leigh Bromby's challenge and then smashed a rising half-volley with his left which flew past Richard Lee and cannoned into the net off the far post to open the scoring.

Warnock said: "I thought Paul would score today, it's one of those grounds he likes.

"When we came here with Sheffield United once we were 2-0 down and came back to win 3-2 and he got the winner.

"It's good to see him back. He's had a nightmare time with injuries but he's an important part. Scott Sinclair felt his hamstring at half-time so I didn't want to risk him and it's great for a manager when substitutions pay off like that."

Warnock's side were embroiled in a relegation scrap when they hosted Watford in his second home game in charge back in October and he admitted that the change in fortune had been remarkable.

He said: "Stoke and Watford were my first two home games in charge and we got absolutely mullered in both.

"It was men against boys and I remember going into my office after the game with Aidy and telling him I didn't know what I'd done to deserve this.

"I couldn't see us scoring a goal never mind getting a win. We were in the mire but we have changed attitudes and gone on this run.

"We have deserved the right to be the team that nobody wants to play in the play-offs - but we're not getting carried away."

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