Pardew: Stoke not in relegation battle

Stoke City have had a dismal start to the new Premier League season, but Crystal Palace boss Alan Pardew insists they are not in any danger of going down.

The Potters opened the campaign with a 1-1 draw at Middlesbrough but back-to-back home drubbings by Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur, as well an away defeat at Everton, has left them bottom of the table.

Since their promotion to the Premier League in 2008 Stoke have only been in one relegation fight, which cost then manager Tony Pulis his job in 2013.

But Pardew insists current boss Mark Hughes has nothing to fear, and insists his talented squad will dig them out of trouble.

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“They will be absolutely fine. They have a great squad and a great manager,” said Pardew.

“They’ve had a very difficult start with fixtures and that’s one of the main reasons why they’re bottom of the league, not because they’re a poor team.

“They have other attacking players who are just as dangerous as (Wilfried) Bony including (Marko) Arnautovic, Bojan, (Mame Biram) Diouf and (Jonathan) Walters who you can put into that list – they have a real strike force there.

“I think they’ve started ok, but they have had some tough games. Mark Hughes is a great manager and what he’s done there to change the style is there for all to see.”