DEAN Holdsworth is hoping his old Wimbledon mates rise to the occasion tonight ... and not tomorrow afternoon.

And just in case they can't, he has the perfect solution - Viagra!

"I'm sending a box of the stuff down there for the lads," the happy Wanderer revealed ahead of tomorrow's showdown with the Crazy Gang.

"Let's hope they have lots of sex tonight!"

Wimbledon boss Terry Burton has come up with a "sex ban" theory to improve his team's chances of making an instant return to the Premiership.

He reckons the Dons, who have an embarrassing record at Selhurst Park, are worn out after 'performing' too well at home ... the night before games. Yet, when they play away and stay overnight in hotels, they've romped to a series of sensational results.

It was sniggers and red faces all round when the Wimbledon boss suggested the nookie ban last Friday but the proof of the pudding came at Birmingham the following day when his celibate stars put another notch on their bedposts with a 3-0 win at St Andrew's - their seventh away win of the season. Four days later, true to form, they were held to a 2-2 draw by lowly Grimsby and are still looking for their second home win!

Now Jason Euell, who has become a key member of the Crazy Gang since Holdsworth left for the Reebok in a £3.5 million deal three years ago, is prepared to accept the manager has a point.

"There's always something crazy going on at this club," he says, "and this is the latest example.

"No one connected our home form with nookie until Terry threw it forward as a reason - but there's been a lot of banter about it.

"If it made a difference, a Friday night ban might even be worth trying.

"If we played half as well at Selhurst Park as we do on our travels, we'd be top of the table."

Joking apart, Holdsworth believes Burton has what it takes to steer his old club through a difficult period as they bid for stability after a disatrous time under previous manager, Egil Olsen, which culminated in relegation from the top flight, where they'd defied gravity for 14 seasons.

"Terry was always a good football coach when I was there but for a time didn't have as much influence on the team as he would have liked," he recalls.

"He went back to doing youth team stuff, scouting and the academy. But he's worked his way back into management, which is good for him and for the club.

"He's a lovely guy, works hard and believes in doing the right thing. It's a bit of a transition period for them at the moment. Although they've still got some of the players and big names they had in the Premiership, there are some new faces there that even I don't know.

"The Wimbledon team of old used to pick itself. Now there a few different players going in there, it's a difficult period for them."

As for that home record of theirs ... "Motivation must be difficult for them at home because of the low crowds," Holdsworth suggests. "They'll be better off going away from home with their underdog spirit. They've always had that.

"But we're going down there to try and do what we did to Crewe on Saturday.

"I'm sure Wimbledon would have had a scout at the Reebok and I'm sure he'll have been suitably impressed."