AFTER four years at Newcastle United, Alan Pardew deserves a fair reception, doesn’t he?

His first meeting with the Magpies might not be in front of 50,000 Geordies inside St James’ Park, but there should be recognition from the travelling fans inside Selhurst Park on Wednesday for the job he did.

There will be those – like members of the Sack Pardew brigade who regularly called for his removal – that will never be convinced.

But the fact is that Pardew actually did a decent enough job during his time on Tyneside. There were times, particularly in his first full season when he led them to fifth, when he did an incredible job.

Yes, there were disappointments along the way.

But the solid balance sheets and profit and loss accounts from inside St James’ during his tenure highlighted the financial constraints he worked to during his time under owner Mike Ashley.

John Carver will give the job his best shot until the end of the season, so will whoever takes over on a full-time basis in the summer – and that could yet be Carver.

But if the next manager (or head coach, if you term the title right) comes in and does a better job than Pardew in similar circumstances then Newcastle will be in incredibly safe hands.

He has been knocked for his style of play and tactics over the last 12 months because the overall record in 2014 was simply not good enough, despite occasional upturns in fortunes before he decided to uproot to Crystal Palace.

Even he, eventually, became fed up with the criticism from the fans at a club where he did not have the freedom in the transfer market he would have liked.

His start at Palace has been impressive, winning four of his five matches, and there are very few people surprised by the impact he has had.

Carver has the utmost respect for Pardew, while Newcastle’s players still performed for him when the going got tough after an awful start to this campaign. He might not be a manager who adopts the most exciting style of play for his team, but he can still deliver results.

After leading Newcastle to fifth in 2012, the club struggled to juggle a Europa League push the following year with Premier League problems and ended up nervously close to the relegation zone in 16th spot. Last May they crept in to the top ten, which is Ashley’s target again for this year too.

Pardew never had the greatest of relationships with Newcastle supporters, but he does not deserve to be jeered and booed every time he comes up against his former employers in the future. After all, there were plenty of fans on Tyneside who didn’t want him there anyway.