No friction in Palace squad—Pardew
Alan Pardew insists there is no friction in his Crystal Palace squad despite being the only senior side in England without a league win this year.
The Selhurst Park side last emerged victorious from a Premier League fixture when they defeated Stoke 2-1 on December 19.
They do have four successes in 2016 against Southampton, Stoke, Tottenham and Reading but all have come in the FA Cup as Palace have reached the semi-finals.
Pardew held talks with his players prior to their game at West Ham last weekend having fallen to 16th in the table and got a spirited response as they drew 2-2.
Palace host Norwich this weekend but while fans might be concerned the gap between the two at the bottom end of the table has closed to three points, the squad is upbeat.
Pardew said: “I think it’s natural for a crowd, particularly after the start we had to this campaign, to have raised expectations.
“They will be nervous on Saturday. They have to sit and worry but we won’t, we’re confident. In the last two games, we’ve been substantially better.
“The stats have been better, our performances better and we’re ready. We’d like to give ourselves a cushion going into this next run of games.
“It could still be a great season for us but we need to get some points in the league to help that.”
Norwich, currently four points clear of the relegation zone in 17th, have been able to get so close to Palace thanks to consecutive wins over West Brom and second-bottom Newcastle.
