Roy Hodgson has admitted that he did not expect Crystal Palace to have all but clinched Premier League safety ahead of their trip to Stoke City on Saturday.
The Eagles mathematically guaranteed their place in the top flight next season thanks to a 2-1 win at the bet365 Stadium, which relegated the Potters in the process.
Palace were pointless and goalless in the league following their first seven games but now sit 11th in the standings and nine points above the bottom three.
"After seven games, or after 11 games with four points, I never saw it coming," Hodgson told BBC Sport at full time.
"I was hoping it would be a low-scoring year in terms of points for the lower sides and we'd just scrape over the line. But we came here, basically safe, I couldn't see us going down with 38 points, so I think it was a great show of character from us to come here and play really well.
"It's probably the thing I'm most proud of, it's not easy having that euphoria from last week, and then come to a place like this where they're fighting for their lives and put on a performance like we did. I would have been disappointed if we hadn't got the win following the performance we put in."
Palace are the first top-flight team since Liverpool in the 1899-1900 season to avoid relegation despite losing their first seven matches of the season.
Giuseppe Labellarte
