Former Crystal Palace boss Alan Pardew has insisted that he would have kept the club in the Premier League last season had he been retained as manager.
The 56-year-old, who was replaced by Sam Allardyce just days before Christmas with the Eagles hovering over the dropzone, has attributed his plight to summer recruitment oversights but claims that he would have strengthened the squad appropriately in the January window.
"I really do think we would have got out of it," Pardew told Sky Sports News.
"Unfortunately, at Crystal Palace we had got things wrong in the summer. We lost our left-back Pape Souare to a car accident in September and had left ourselves with no left-footed back-up there. It became a massive problem for us and it was one that we did not foresee.
"I think what Palace went on to do in the January transfer window was pretty much what I would have done anyway. The players did need a boost though. They needed a left-back and they got two. They needed a centre-back as there were some problems there as well and Mamadou Sakho proved to be a massive signing."
Allardyce stepped down as Palace boss after guiding the club to Premier League safety, with former Ajax and Inter Milan boss Frank de Boer being named as his replacement over the summer.
Mark Langshaw
