PARDEW: THE EGO HAS NOT LANDED HERE

ALAN PARDEW took over at West Brom yesterday, vowing to keep his “ego” in check.

Pardew (above) left West Ham, Newcastle and Crystal Palace after promising reigns tailed off.

But he said: “I think, whatever age you are, you must try and better yourself and learn from

your mistakes. I’m not going to sit here and say I haven’t made mistakes. I have. I like to think that I’ve learned from those.

“You have to understand that criticism comes in all shapes and sizes.

“And sometimes that praise can get out of hand and you can get carried away a little bit with it.

“So it’s about having a balance on that side of things with your kind of ego and the way that you are.

“But, more importantly, it’s managing the team through all of that and not getting distracted by it – and I think some managers do.”

Pardew, 56, has been out of work as a manager since he was axed by Palace last December.

He has now signed a contract to run until 2020 as successor to sacked boss Tony Pulis at struggling Albion, who have been teetering just above the relegation zone.

Pardew added: “I still don’t think I’m perfect, by any stretch of the imagination.

“But I hope that I’m a good manager for West Brom.”