Wimbledon Manager Joe Kinnear has put aside any thoughts of the Dons moving into a new stadium as he concentrates on a battle even more crucial to the club's survival - the fight against relegation.

A plan for Wimbledon to move into a multi-purpose venue at a greyhound stadium near their former Plough Lane ground in their native London borough of Merton has fallen through due to problems with capacity, layout and feasibility. Additional problems were created by the lack of on-site parking, which would have been restricted to just 50 vehicles, enough for players and officials, but not for supporters.

But as he announced the setback, Wimbledon supremo Sam Hammam also spoke of his "cautious optimism" that the club would finally be able to move back to Merton as they embarked on an extensive search for a new site in the area with the help of the local council.

The Dons are intent on leaving Selhurst Park and have retained the option of moving to Dublin, but Hammam clearly believes he has finally found a man he can do business with in new Merton Council leader Mike Brunt, a lifelong Wimbledon supporter.

Over the course of the next six months, club officials and council planning officers - together with a private company hired by Wimbledon - will assess every possible venue for the Dons in Merton.

Hammam, who criticised demonstrations by fans at recent home games against the proposed move to Dublin as "unhelpful," insisted: "My priority is Merton. If a suitable site exists, then I am confident the council will help us find it and make it work. But it won't happen overnight and everyone must remain patient.

"The council has never been more helpful than they are today and had Mike Brunt been leader a decade ago, we would never have had to leave Merton in the first place."

Brunt added: "Council officers and a team from the football club are now looking at available sites throughout the borough to answer, once and for all, all the questions about Wimbledon returning to the borough."

But both Kinnear and Hammam realise that even if a new home is found for the club in Merton, it would count for little if the team were relegated in the meantime.

They have dropped to 14th in the league - just two points above the relegation zone - after picking up just five points in their last seven games, and victory over Derby at Selhurst Park tomorrow is a priority, with Kinnear planning to stick with the line-up that won at Wrexham in their midweek FA Cup replay.

The club have been rocked by injuries and international call-ups all season, given their small squad, and although they do have some money to spend, they simply cannot match the massive wages being paid by other clubs.

Kinnear said: "I will never believe anything about a new ground until it comes off. But my priority is saving the club from relegation, as it always has been.

"What worries me most is not that players like Dion Dublin, who we were interested in, are able to get £20,000 a week at Middlesbrough, but that Coventry, who are supposed to be in the same financial league as us, were able to offer him £16,000 a week to stay.

"I knew before the start of the season that this year was going to be the toughest yet, but I didn't think it was going to be as tough as it has been with all the injuries we've had and the wages players at other clubs are asking for. But I still believe in the squad we've got here and we can survive."