Simon Jordan has launched a stinging attack on Crystal Palace's stay-away supporters, claiming the club will struggle to mount a promotion bid unless attendances begin to rise at Selhurst Park.

The south Londoners travel to Queens Park Rangers tonight for a game which pits one of the world's richest clubs - bankrolled by the combined wealth of Lakshmi Mittal, Flavio Briatore and Bernie Ecclestone - against one of the Championship's most hard-up.

Palace are desperate for new investment, having been placed on the market by Jordan more than a year ago. Players were not paid their October wages on time last Friday, with the club citing a banking error for the oversight, and a Football League transfer embargo imposed for unpaid bills was only lifted just over two weeks ago.

Jordan, who has suggested he would welcome a takeover bid from the former Birmingham owner David Gold, insists there is no immediate threat of the club sliding into administration but he has revealed the extent of his frustration with Palace's low crowds this season.

The Eagles' average gate stands at just under 15,000, just over half of Selhurst Park's capacity, and Jordan believes the shortfall is costing the club around £5m-a-year in lost revenue.

"People need to look at the reality," he said. "If we had crowds of 25,000 coming through the gate every week then how much extra would that bring in a year? I think about £5m or £6m, and just think what we could do with that.

"Charlton, Norwich, Leeds, Leicester and Southampton have all been relegated in recent seasons with enormous attendances. People can say we're in the middle of the recession and there is a credit crunch but they got 25,000 fans every week.

"We played Nottingham Forest the other week and we only had 12,000 of our fans inside the ground - the other 3,500 were away fans.

"The fact of the matter is that the only way we can compete is if someone like me bridges the gap month in and month out.

"I believe our current squad is capable of success this season but if we get success it will be against a backdrop of adversity and I don't think that gets appreciated the way it should be. If we had the money coming into the club that other clubs have I think we would be in the Premier League."

Rangers manager Jim Magilton, meanwhile has urged his side to cut out the sloppy mistakes which saw them crash to a surprise home defeat to Leicester last week.

The Hoops were beaten 2-1, with Radek Cerny at fault for Leicester's second-half winner, but the Ulsterman has no plans to axe the former Tottenham goalkeeper.

"We pride ourselves on clean sheets," Magilton said.

"QPR had a fantastic defensive record last season and it gives you a base to build on. A good side has to build from those kinds of basics.

"We thought we had them but, like everything in life, we got a kick up the backside. Maybe that's what we needed, but it certainly didn't stem from over-confidence.

"Radek's a very experienced player. He made an error but keepers do make errors from time to time. He's been great for us and I expect him to dust himself down on Tuesday."