Alan Pardew: 'Crystal Palace are under pressure'

Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew has acknowledged that his team are under pressure to get back to winning ways in the Premier League.

Palace have suffered four consecutive defeats and are without a win in five games, and they head into Saturday's fixture with Manchester City just one point above the relegation zone.

Pardew insists that his side are not yet involved in a battle to avoid the drop to the Championship but he has admitted that they must turn around their form in the fixtures leading up to the Christmas period.

The 55-year-old told reporters: "We need to improve, there's no doubt about that. All over. The result (a 3-2 defeat) at Burnley was a big blow for us. That has put pressure on us and we'll have to deal with that.

"I'm not thinking we're in a relegation battle at all, if I'm honest. We need to make sure we get some results in the next few weeks."

Palace have recorded just four points from their five home games in the Premier League this season.