CRYSTAL Palace manager George Burley admitted he was indebted to goalkeeper Julian Speroni for preserving a point for his side against Burnley.

The Argentinian was linked with a move to the top flight in the summer but Burley and Palace’s new owners managed to keep hold of him.

“I was pleased with a point,” said Burley. “They are a good side with experienced players who have come out of the Premier League.

“We were fortunate. The keeper made some great saves and the two centre-halves were outstanding. Julian is a top-class keeper.

"We had to work hard in the transfer window to keep him.

“It doesn’t surprise me when he makes saves like that and he is still maturing. He is a top player for us.

“I won’t say how many clubs were in for him. The new consortium decided we didn’t want to sell him and that pleases me because we want to keep our best players.

“We hope we can keep hold of him. He has been player of the year for the last three years. He is a big personality and the crowd respect that.”

Burley added: “It’s a learning experience for our younger players. We are trying to build a team, developing young players.

“We have a long way to go but what we did show was character.

"We stood firm and still had opportunities.”