Friday 20 March 2015 14:05, UK
Alan Pardew has written off Crystal Palace's chances of catching Stoke in the Premier League.
The Eagles head to the Britannia Stadium on Saturday knowing a fourth away win in five outings would cut the gap on eighth-placed City to just six points.
Palace were in the relegation zone and without a win in eight matches when Pardew took over as manager at Selhurst Park in January, but last weekend's 3-1 victory over QPR lifted them eight points clear of the bottom three as Stoke's three-game winning run ended in a 1-0 defeat at West Brom.
But while Palace fans may be looking up the table following their fine recent form, Pardew still has one eye on the survival battle beneath them.
"We can't relax," he said. "Two results for one of those bottom teams and it will be very tight again, so we know we still have work to do.
"Can we catch Stoke? No. They've had a great season under Mark Hughes, they were disappointing last week and they will come recharged for us.
Always difficult
"It's always difficult at the Britannia, but we are looking forward to this fixture, we are playing well and we will be a test for Stoke.
"When you've won the way to look is up. If you've lost you look down. All teams go through different phases of form and we're in a good phase, and we want to try to keep that going.
Can we catch Stoke? No. They've had a great season under Mark Hughes.
"You can feel there is a little bit of confidence in the air here after we got a result against QPR and the manner in which we did, but as we all know in this game seven days is a long time in football so we have to produce a performance against Stoke.
"We have momentum but it's only our second year in the Premier League and that is the most difficult one. We were in trouble, we got ourselves out of it but we have a long way to go before we're like Stoke."
Palace have offered their fans free coach travel for the trip and Pardew hopes his side can put on another impressive away performance in front of a bumper crowd.
"It's a weekend where we're getting all the fans up there for free so we'll have a great following and hopefully we can respond to that," he added.
"They make a lot of noise up there and it's got a good atmosphere for the home team. They've got some good quality players, some whom I have worked with, so I'm not surprised where they are in the league."
