Pardew: We have to be strong

Alan Pardew has urged Crystal Palace to be strong as they look to turn their season around.

Palace have only managed three wins from their first 13 games and currently sit 17th in the Premier League table with 11 points.

Saturday's 5-4 defeat to Swansea was their sixth successive loss in the league and it has been reported that Pardew has been given two games in which to save his job.

Defeat to Southampton and Hull would see them drop into the relegation zone and Pardew accepts he is under pressure to start delivering results.

"I'm a realist, I understand the situation. I've got to ensure our next result is a positive one. That's a pressure I put on myself. I am used to this situation, I've been in it before. It's unusual to have this kind of run. I know we have to be strong," he told reporters ahead of Saturday's visit of Southampton.

"I have an honest group of players. OK, we've lost some confidence in set plays and made some mistakes, but we'll correct that.

"Our fans have suffered. I want us to get a result and people to leave this stadium much happier than after the game at Swansea."

Palace looked to be heading to victory at Swansea as came from 3-1 down to lead 4-3 in stoppage time only for substitute Fernando Llorente to score twice to secure all three points for Bob Bradley's side and Pardew admits his team owe the fans who were at the Liberty Stadium.

"The most important thing is the shock of the Swansea game. We need to get the players balanced - we don't want to get overly tense. There's a lot of frustration in the group and we need to put it right," he explained.

"The fans travelled to Burnley, Swansea - games we should have won. We need to pay them back. We've worked on seeing the game out in training this week. Our form and the way we've played don't reflect where we are, but results are everything."

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