Swansea captain Ashley Williams 'outstanding' in Crystal Palace draw, says caretaker boss Alan Curtis

Swansea caretaker manager Alan Curtis said captain Ashley Williams was "outstanding" after Crystal Palace boss Alan Pardew called him a "pain in the butt".

Williams was resolute at the heart of the Swans' defence as the visitors hung on for a 0-0 draw at Selhurst Park.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Palace manager Pardew said the defender was like a "magnet" and called him a "pain in the butt".    

Curtis said he was not surprised by the lynchpin's towering performance. "He really epitomised the spirit of the side today," he said.

"I thought he was absolutely outstanding today but he has been for such a long time. It really is not surprising the performance he gave today.

"It's what we have become used to over so many seasons he has been with us. But I thought he was immense today. I thought we had a number of really strong performances today and Ashley was outstanding."

Swansea were unfamiliar from the side that beat West Brom 1-0 on Boxing Day with Curtis making eight changes. Curtis said he was forced to shake things up after a number of players picked up injuries during their busy festive period. 

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"I really didn't want to make as many changes but there were a couple of niggling injuries, which if the game had been played 24 hours later maybe we could have played it with another two or three probably," he said.

"A couple needed a little bit of rest after a tough game on Boxing Day. It was far too many than we had originally planned and sometimes injuries can take over."

After a poor first half, both sides emerged after the break determined to take all three points. Patrick Bamford and Wilfried Zaha had chances to score for the hosts while Gylfi Sigurdsson had a free-kick tipped away by Wayne Hennessey. 

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Curtis said that while his side went to the Selhurst for a win, he was pleased to take a point back to Wales.

"Palace is always tough place to come, as we've found in the past," said the Swans caretaker manager. "We had to dig in again. 

"I said on Boxing Day that we had to find a way to win, and today was about making sure we came away from here with something, having given a good performance.

"We obviously came for the win again, but we're pleased with the point."