Alan Pardew: Crystal Palace boss targets top-10 finish

Alan Pardew celebrates the win over Manchester City with Crystal Palace fans

Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew believes his side can finish in the top half of the Premier League after beating champions Manchester City.

The Eagles moved up to 11th after their third successive win with goals from Glenn Murray and Jason Puncheon.

Palace were in the relegation zone when Pardew took charge but have now taken 22 points out of a possible 33 since.

"You've got to set goals and adjust them to how you perform and we're performing really well," he said.

"We're in the top four for form in the country and we'll take that into the next game," he told BBC Radio 5 live.

"We've had three wins in a row now, QPR here, Stoke away, which is never easy and Man City - they're big games to win."

Pardew also hailed the impact of Murray, who scored the opening goal in the 2-1 victory over City.

After scoring 31 goals in Palace's promotion season, the 31-year-old missed much of last season through injury and was loaned to Reading in August.

But Murray has resurrected his Palace career under Pardew, scoring five goals in their last five games.

"In the football world, Glenn's been unlucky because of injuries at bad times," said the former Newcastle manager. "He's got into the Premier League but missed big parts of it.

"Now he's showing what people always knew about Glenn - that he can play in the Premier League and be a quality player and that's what he's proving."