Ian Holloway has thanked whoever left excrement in Crystal Palace's dressing room prior to their play-off semi-final at Brighton for giving him the easiest team talk of his career.
The Eagles were greeted by the disgusting deposit when they arrived at the Amex Stadium for last Monday's second leg.
Holloway's side were big underdogs going into that match following the goalless home leg three days earlier, but two Wilfried Zaha goals secured a 2-0 win and a Wembley final against Watford next Monday to decide who will play in the Barclays Premier League next season.
Eagles boss Holloway said: 'I have to thank that person for doing me the biggest favour. I didn't have to gee the players up at all, in fact I had to calm them down. I've never seen a look like that on Wilf's face.
'So how stupid is that person? He got Palace to play like that. It never ceases to amaze me, how low will some people go?'
Brighton have formally apologised to Palace and launched an internal investigation, while also suspending manager Gus Poyet and two of his staff for unrelated matters. Holloway is now keen to draw a line under the unsavoury incident.
'You have to act with dignity and I believe Brighton have,' he added. 'It must be difficult, with a stadium like that, to stop a complete lunatic trying to spoil what Brighton do - we all know what a good club Brighton are.
Devastating: Zaha strikes to make it 2-0 at knock Brighton out of the play-offsHead-to-head: Poyet meets Palace manager Ian Holloway before seeing his side crash out to their rivals
'We chose to keep it to ourselves, I trust they will do it in the right way. Brighton's a fantastic club - although that didn't endear them to me It's a silly, nonsensical thing but it's not as bad as it used to be when people would throw their seats at the away fans.
'No-one was hurt, so let's just treat it that Brighton will deal with it. I thank them for the bottle of wine they gave me after I told them about it. Someone got into our dressing room who shouldn't have done but Brighton responded it to it very well.
Brighton formally apologised to Palace after excrement, with chief executive Paul Barber saying the club has 'reviewed our internal procedures to guard against this ever happening again.'
In an email to season-ticket holders, Barber said: 'We apologised to Crystal Palace as soon as the vandalism in their dressing room was discovered, and again more formally a few days after the match.'
Wembley-bound: Holloway celebrates with his players after last week's gamePoyet, who has since been suspended by Brighton, wrote a scathing email to his staff to find out who was responsible for the appalling incident.
The Sun revealed the ranting email that was sent in the wake of Brighton's 2-0 defeat.
'I am angry that someone within this club could endanger our good reputation and stoop so low. I would like someone to accept responsibility and resign,' read the email.
Poyet also criticised the marketing department's decision to leave clappers on the seats, saying it added a 'negative vibe to proceedings.'
Ex-Brighton winger Vicente called Poyet 'the worst person I've come across in football' after being released by the club.
The former Spain star told The Brighton Argus: ‘He is the worst person I've come across in football. For me he is a selfish person, very egocentric. I say that because it's how I feel.
'I won't talk badly about my team-mates, because they have been fantastic with me. What I think is unacceptable is that the manager makes fun of his players. I've seen things here that I have never seen in my career.
'If you miss with a shot in training, he makes fun. For me, that is unacceptable in football.’
A video of Holloway dancing in the Palace dressing room after the game became an internet sensation after it was posted on Twitter by winger Yannick Bolasie.
Holloway revealed he was not happy with his player for posting the video online.
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