ALAN PARDEW says Newcastle United are in a “difficult situation” after his Crystal Palace side dumped them back into the relegation zone yesterday, but the Eagles boss is hoping his former club haul themselves out of trouble.

Newcastle slipped to 19th position as they crashed to a 5-1 defeat at Selhurst Park, but despite leaving Tyneside under something of a cloud last December, Pardew claims yesterday’s result did not bring him additional satisfaction because of the opposition.

The Londoner walked away from St James’ Park after sustained criticism from a large section of the Newcastle fans, and having been on the wrong end of a number of heavy defeats during his time in charge of the Magpies, he would have found it easy to sympathise with Steve McClaren, who is now coming under intense pressure himself.

Pardew was keen to praise his own side’s performance yesterday, but when pressed on his old side’s position, he admitted he was worried by Newcastle’s plight.

“There’s no extra satisfaction (in beating Newcastle),” he said. “It’s difficult to talk about the opposition because I love the staff and the players there, and some of the Newcastle fans who I know who travelled to the game.

“Whatever I say about that club gets contrived. All I would say is that I hope fortunes turn for them going forward. It’s a tough situation they find themselves in, but I’d rather talk about how terrific my team was, no matter who was the opposition.”

Pardew’s best season at St James’ saw him lead Newcastle into fifth position, and with yesterday’s win having lifted Palace to sixth, he is targeting another European campaign with his current employers.

“The players were really on it,” he said. “It was a pivotal game in our season, whoever the opposition was. Were we going to become a mid-table team and just drift around there, or were we going to put ourselves back in contention with those top-eight sides?

“The top eight sides in the Premier League are really good sides, but they’re the sides that we’re competing with. We’ve put ourselves back in amongst the Evertons and Tottenhams, and that’s where we want to be. That’s where our ambitions should be.”