Alan Pardew: 'Hull City match could define first half of season'

Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew has talked up the importance of his side's upcoming clash with Hull City, saying that it could define the first half of the club's season.

Palace halted a run of six consecutive defeats with a 3-0 victory over Southampton last weekend, leaving them 14th in the Premier League table and three points from danger.

The Eagles will be looking to make it back-to-back victories at the KCOM Stadium on Saturday in what will be Pardew's 300th Premier League game as a manager, and the importance of the match is amplified by the fact that they will face Manchester United and Chelsea in the two games immediately after Hull.

"This game could define the first half of our season because we have two very difficult fixtures after Hull so we need to get something there. It's a big game for both teams," Pardew told the club's official website.

"[300 games] makes me feel old, grey and tired! It's difficult in the Premier League - it's the toughest league in the world and the top teams have made it tougher for us to catch them this year.

"The rest of us are fighting amongst ourselves, but in my 300 games the level between the bottom teams and the mid-table teams have got much smaller, so it's tougher to get results, but I love the league, the format and competitiveness of it."

Pardew will become only the fifth Englishman to reach 300 games as a manager in the Premier League.