Pardew will not quit despite mounting pressure

LONDON: Alan Pardew (pic) refused to give up after two injury-time goals at Swansea condemned his Crystal Palace side to a sixth defeat in a row.

The Eagles were leading 4-3 with 91 minutes on the clock at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday.

But a last-gasp double from Fernando Llorente moved Swans off the bottom and left Palace above the drop zone on goal difference.

Pardew is now 5-4 on favourite to be the next Premiership boss for the boot.

And the Selhurst Park chief admitted his future is out of his hands, saying: “That’s not my decision.

“I’m a manager of the football club at the moment, it is six straight defeats, it’s hurting and that’s about it.

The next two games against Southampton at home and Hull away could seal his fate.

“My decision is always the same when you’re a football manager.

“You’ve got to try and address the problems and deal with it. I’m certainly strong enough and been here before so I know how it works.

“Yes, I feel I can turn it around. I think the group understand that we have some options to change the team around. We need to get a victory quickly.”

Palace were 3-1 down with 15 minutes to play before appearing to have grabbed an amazing win.

But the Londoners, who leaked four goals from set-pieces, allowed Spanish hitman Llorente to grab the glory with dramatic goals after 91 and 93 minutes.

Pardew said: “We almost had it today, I don’t know how many minutes away from victory we were.

“But we’ve got see it out. A break here and there wouldn’t go amiss but having said that I can’t defend my defenders today. They needed to stand up and be better than that.

“If we can’t defend a 4-3 lead with six or nine minutes on the clock I’m afraid that’s not good enough. We just can’t seem to defend set plays. There were four today.

“We have to do a hell of a lot better than we do. I have to look at that and possibly make changes.” — The Sun,