Alan Pardew admits surprise after Crystal Palace top 10 finish
Monday 25 May 2015 11:59, UK
Alan Pardew admitted he never thought Crystal Palace could finish in the top 10 of the Premier League when he took over at the club in January.
Pardew took over at the south-east London club with Palace in danger of falling into a relegation dogfight. The former Eagles player had been manager at Newcastle for four years prior to returning to London.
Since he has been at the club, they have been sixth in the Premier League form table and have achieved wins over Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester City.
Their rise into 10th place was confirmed when they beat Swansea 1-0 at Selhurst Park on the final day and Pardew said afterwards: "When I arrived here the club was in a difficult position, but there was no shortage of quality or character and my goodness we have proved that.
"Over the last 18 games our record has been phenomenal and none of the top teams' record is better.
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"It's remarkable really to finish 10th, I'd never have dreamt that when I arrived. I wouldn't have believed you had you told me, especially when the bus was parked 300 yards away and I had to walk... I wasn't used to that being manager of Newcastle!
"It's been a great experience and we now need to kick on if we can. We'll try to do that."
Pardew hopes he will be asked to invest the extra money that accompanies finishing 10th back into the squad and is targeting the addition of four first-team players during the transfer window.
He added: "The chairman will have me moaning [now we have this extra money], but he’s a good listener. We want to hold onto our good players, and we have a lot here.
"We're in a good position because we don't need to speculate, we just need to buy some quality. I hope players up and down the country and in Europe have seen the potential of this place.
"It's a London club - the only [Premier League] club south of the river - and we can really kick on. I hope players want to come here. I’m going to have a good break, have a good rest and look forward to next year."
