Damien Delaney: 'Relief for Pardew is massive'

Crystal Palace defender Damien Delaney has spoken of the 'massive relief' felt by the players and manager Alan Pardew after the Eagles claimed a 3-0 victory over Southampton on Saturday afternoon.

Goals from Christian Benteke either side of a James Tomkins strike brought an end to a miserable run of six straight Premier League defeats that has seen Pardew's job come in for scrutiny.

"We're very happy," Delaney told BBC Sport afterwards. "It's been a hard few weeks. We've just said in the changing room that we need to build on this. Come in on Monday and work hard this week, as we have another big game next Saturday.

"Last year we weren't scoring many goals and now we are, but we're conceding lots. It's a collective responsibility. It was important to get the win but a clean sheet was nice."

"Everyone had a long hard look at themselves after last week's performance. The relief for the manager was massive."

The result saw Palace move up to 13th in the table, three points above the relegation zone.