Free entry may help Rovers’ battle to beat drop

Relegation to League One costs around £3m in lost income and Ryan says a full house is the best way to help secure the victory needed to allay those fears. Only a few tickets remained last night – guaranteeing a near 15,000-capacity crowd.

Gates for the club’s last two home Championship games had dropped below 9,500.

“This is our most important game since beating Leeds United at Wembley to win promotion to the Championship three years ago,” said Ryan. “We stand to lose about £3m if we go down and it might take years to get back up. This is about the future of the club and making sure we are still playing second-tier football next season.

“The major shareholders have decided to let everyone in for free, apart from the Palace fans, and that decision costs them £100,000 but we have done it for the greater good,” he added. “Cost is not an issue so there is no excuse for supporters not being there.”

With only two wins in the last 20 games, Rovers have sunk to 20th in the table just five points clear of the bottom three with four games to play. Palace are two points behind in 21st place with both clubs being chased by Scunthorpe United, Preston North End and Sheffield United in the battle for survival.

A small section of the club’s 6,000 season-ticket holders have complained – saying their loyalty goes unrewarded under the terms of the deal – but Ryan feels it is wrong to protest.

“Without the support of season-ticket holders, we would find it genuinely hard to operate,” he admitted. “They are our most valued fans but only a minority are unhappy and the season ticket still represents incredible value.

“On this occasion, I am afraid we have to look at the bigger picture. We are not filling the stadium yet we are playing against clubs that were a distant dream when I joined the board 13 years ago and the club was in the Conference.”

Under Football League regulations, clubs are entitled to offer four ‘local promotions’ each season in which home supporters pay less than those of the travelling club. Palace have sold around 1,000 tickets at £22 each for Friday’s game.

The biggest attendance at the Keepmoat Stadium is 15,001 – when Rovers hosted Leeds in a League One fixture three years ago.

Leicester City midfielder Franck Moussa, meanwhile, has extended his loan stay with Rovers until the end of the season.