Since Alan Pardew returned to Crystal Palace as a manager in January 2015, the club has managed six wins in the league.
This has helped them put together a five point advantage over the relegation zone. Even though the possibility of getting into the top 10 of the table still remains for Crystal Palace, manager Pardew does not seem to have taken attention away from the fact that avoiding relegation is the biggest priority for the club. Pardew has recalled that Crystal Palace have always been a yo-yo club when it comes to the top division.
The club will be taking a big step towards safety when they take on West Ham this weekend. A victory from this match will put Palace just four points away from the magical 40 point mark. Traditionally, clubs have been able to feel safe once they reach this figure. This season, however, there is a feeling that even a lower points tally will be sufficient to remain in the Premier League. Burnley, QPR, and Leicester City are the clubs in the drop zone at the moment. West Ham represent a tough London Derby for Crystal Palace despite Allardyce’s team going of boiling recent months. West Ham have won only one league match in 2015.
“The problem with Palace’s history is that it’s a yo-yo club.It goes up and down, and the second year (in the top flight) is the toughest.In the first you can get by on just sheer excitement and the adrenaline the Premier League provides.But in the second year it runs out and you are leaning on what you have in terms of quality.I hope we have enough to overcome that second year. Once you’ve done that you can start to stabilise if you buy and trade well,” said Pardew.