Alan Pardew: 'I have sympathy for David Moyes'

Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew has said that he has sympathy for David Moyes ahead of his side's Premier League clash with Sunderland this weekend.

The Eagles will arrive at the Stadium of Light looking to prolong Sunderland's winless start under Moyes, with the Black Cats having accrued just one point from their opening five league games.

Moyes has suffered short-lived spells at Manchester United and Real Sociedad since ending an 11-year stint at Everton, but Pardew defended the Scot and instead criticised the tendency to judge managers on their recent form.

"You can have sympathy for that situation because it's not a nice situation. David's experienced enough as it is, but our trade being what it is, we're going there to win. And we're going to go there and do the best possible job that we can, with a team that at the moment looks in good form," he told reporters.

"We're judged on three or four games, and nothing beforehand seems to get a mention. We all have to live by these new current rules, do we? Okay, that's what we have to do. David Moyes is a fantastic manager. His record at Everton is the best of any (active) British manager, probably, and he deserves respect for that.

"He's trying to find a new club, trying to find his way, and it takes time, and the pressure heaped on managers when they haven't got a win is becoming bigger and more intense every season."

Palace go into the match sitting eighth in the Premier League table having picked up seven points from their five games so far this season.