Winner Pardew thanks Palace chairman Parish for his support
LONDON (Reuters) - Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew celebrated the 3-0 win over Southampton that ended the club's dismal run of form on Saturday by thanking chairman Steve Parish for his support.
The 55-year-old has been under pressure following six straight defeats, culminating in last week's 5-4 loss at Swansea City, which led some supporters to call for his removal in the hope of halting the club's slide down the Premier League table.
But two goals from Christian Benteke and another from James Tomkins at Selhurst Park brought welcome relief to Pardew, who gave a thumbs-up to Parish after the third goal, a gesture that the chairman reciprocated.
"It's tough. You have to understand we have a lot of heavy investors here in the background," said Pardew. "Some of their knowledge on the football isn't great and he has to defend me. That is what he's done this week and I just want to say thanks for that."
Last month Pardew flew to New York with Parish to meet American co-owners Joshua Harris and David Blitzer to discuss, among other things, the club's poor run of form.
In 2015 the pair, who also own the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers and the NHL's New Jersey Devils, each secured an 18 per cent share in Palace, the same as Parish, under a deal which contributed to a £50 million ($63.65 million) cash injection.
After last month's meeting, Pardew was allowed to carry on despite some British media reporting that former England manager Sam Allardyce was poised to take over at the club.
Asked how he had coped with the pressure of being close to the sack, Pardew said on Saturday: "I think it comes with experience. As a manager I have been in this position before. But I think today we had the right balance between being a bit cautious, as you would expect, and disciplined, and showing that little bit of flair."
The win moved Palace up to 13th place with 14 points.
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(Reporting by Neil Robinson,; Editing by Neville Dalton)