GEORGE Burley has revealed Claude Davis had no hesitation in admitting he was at fault for conceding a penalty in Saturday’s defeat at the hands of Ipswich.

Davis tugged back Jon Stead just as he entered the box early in the second half, an offence which saw the defender handed a straight red card and ultimately gifted Ipswich their opener after Grant Leadbitter converted the spot kick.

It isn’t the first time Davis has been sent off and left Crystal Palace up against it and although determined to eradicate poor judgement from his side’s game, Burley backed Davis to learn from the experience quickly.

The Eagles boss said: “He put his hands up and said ‘yep, it was a pull’, so it is a concentration factor and I’m sure he will learn from this because as a team we’ve got to be disciplined.

“I’ve always had a disciplined team who have worked under me and that has got to be put right.

“You never like losing obviously but overall I thought it was a good performance.

“I thought we played some excellent stuff and we are progressing by playing some good football.

“Ipswich are a good side. They came and let us have a lot of possession of the ball.

“Our midfield play at times was exceptional but one moment of madness has cost us the game and that is something we’ve got to eradicate otherwise you are going to lose games.”

Pablo Counago was unavailable to face Ipswich under the terms of his loan deal from Portman Road but he is likely to feature in tomorrow night’s Carling Cup visit to Portsmouth.

Edgar Davids was unveiled in front of the fans at half-time, although he is still some way off match fitness, as Burley explained.

“We’ve got to monitor how Edgar Davids gets on because he hasn’t played for two years,” he said.

The manger also hinted he hasn’t necessarily finished his wheeling and dealing yet after a busy spell on the transfer front in the run up to the Ipswich clash.

He added:“We will play it by ear. There is still a week and a half to go until the window closes, so we will see what happens.”

Two of those new signings did make their debut on Saturday when Jon Obika and Alex Marrow, who are both on loan, came off the bench.

Burley was delighted to land their services and backed the duo to be a hit at Selhurst Park.

The boss said: “Alex is a young midfield player who is versatile and can play at full back and centre half. He has been playing for Blackburn reserves and is 20 years old.

“Jon Obika scored two goals for Tottenham reserves on Tuesday, he has got pace and an eye for goal.

“I think both of these young players will be good additions to the squad.”

Darren Ambrose missed out on the opportunity to face his former club after picking up a knock on his knee in training.

Last season’s top scorer could be back for this weekend’s trip to Scunthorpe but the prognosis is not so promising for one of Ambrose’s colleagues.

Burley said: “David Wright has a torn calf muscle and could be out for a long time.”