Alan Pardew’s Newcastle regrets

Crystal Palace boss Alan Pardew admits it hurt to watch his best teams being dismantled at Newcastle but claims he is a stronger and more resolute manager after four years in the North East.

Pardew was handed the Premier League Manager of the Year award in 2012 after leading the Magpies to a fifth-place finish and the club threatened the top four again last season before falling away in the second half of the campaign.

Newcastle’s chances of Champions League qualification were harmed by high-profile departures as the likes of Andy Carroll, Demba Ba, Yohan Cabaye and Mathieu Debuchy were all sold for handsome profits.

“I can think of two really good sides I had at Newcastle,” Pardew said.

“The one that finished fifth — in a way you’ve kind of won the league for a team like Newcastle when you do that.

“But then I thought we actually had an even better team than that only 12 months ago when we had Loic Remy, Cabaye, Moussa Sissoko, Cheick Tiote, Fabricio Coloccini, Tim Krul — that team was a really, really strong team. I was really hurt that we never got back to that team.

“Cabaye leaving was out of our control, he didn’t give us any movement on that, and Remy got injured and we couldn’t secure the position. We never got back to that and when that has happened before, it starts to hurt.

“They were ninth when I left, it’s a really good, stable club and it’s a good position for a different manager to take it forward and I hope they do.”