Sunday 4 December 2016 19:29, UK
Alan Pardew humiliated Crystal Palace's new American owners with a 'patronising' statement on Saturday, according to the Sunday Supplement.
Following Palace's 3-0 win over Southampton at Selhurst Park, the club's first victory in eight games, Pardew thanked chairman Steve Parish for defending his position while suggesting the club has other investors "who perhaps don't know a lot about football".
He said: "The chairman got a little bit edgy this week as you would expect. But he's been brilliant for me and I just wanted to say thank you to him so I gave him the thumbs-up at the end.
"We have a lot of serious investors at the club who perhaps don't know a lot about football, so the chairman has been defending me this week."
The south London club received investment from US businessmen Josh Harris and David Blitzer last December, and The Sun's northern football correspondent Neil Custis believes Pardew has unintentionally created a rift between himself and the owners.
When asked if Pardew had been provocative, Custis told the Sunday Supplement: "Inadvertently, yes. He has just been a bit stupid.
"I don't think it's premeditated to have a go at the owners and get a right good pay off but he has just been stupid.
"I think they will look at it and feel humiliated because the last thing new owners of football clubs want, particularly when they come from America, is the patronising way we can sometimes look at them and say, 'Oh, you're expecting touchdowns.'
"We can be quite patronising in this country and this was particularly patronising."
Pardew was under pressure following a run of six consecutive league defeats before the victory over Southampton, and The Mail on Sunday's chief sports writer Oliver Holt believes another poor run of form could spell the end for the former Newcastle boss.
"I think what he has done is the next time Palace are in a spot of bother, he is going to get the bullet because they won't be quite so kind the next time," Holt said.
"I've never been his biggest fan off the pitch, I don't like his vanity, the dancing at Wembley, and I don't like his style, but I do think he is a good manager.
"Parish deserves credit for sticking with him and I think he can turn things around there."
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