Johnson hits out at Spurs coach
Andrew Johnson says Tottenham's Martin Jol does not know what he is talking about.
He weighed into the spat between Crystal Palace manager Iain Dowie and the Spurs head coach today by claiming the Dutchman had underestimated his boss.
Jol said at the weekend that he wanted to tell Dowie "he's not fit to mend my shoelaces" after comments the former Northern Ireland striker made on television.
But Johnson said: "That is totally disrespectful. The gaffer is as good as any of the managers in the Premier League and I would back him all the way.
"He is a top manager and has done wonders for this team. Whatever the Tottenham manager is saying is rubbish."
The row blew up after Dowie was a pundit for Tottenham's televised defeat at Aston Villa last week. Jol was upset by what he thought was unfair criticism from Dowie and former Villa manager John Gregory.
He hit back at both but all the Crystal Palace manager had said was that Pedro Mendes was not in his best position on the right.
Dowie said today: "I was never defamatory about Martin and the fact that he responded in that manner was very churlish.
"If he had something to say to me on a personal level, I would love him to pick up the phone or meet me in a room. I don't understand. I just felt Pedro Mendes was better as a central midfield player.
"Most of us respect Jol greatly as a coach and I have never said that I did not respect him. The fact that he has said disrespectful things about me means he has lost the moral high ground."
The spat will give Palace's visit to White Hart Lane on 28 December added meaning.
Dowie added "I am more worried about us, but it will be interesting to meet him."
Palace hope to have moved further away from the relegation zone by then and believe they must win their next two games against Charlton and Blackburn.
They were disappointed with the 2-2 draw at Southampton but Johnson enhanced his reputation with a headed second-half goal, taking his league total for the season to nine.
Wayne Routledge was the other Palace scorer. Southampton netted through Kevin Phillips and Andreas Jakobsson.
