Crystal Palace get pep talk from England rugby coach Eddie Jones

England's rugby Grand Slam-winning coach Eddie Jones has given Crystal Palace a motivational talk as they build up to an FA Cup final season finale.

Before facing Manchester United in the cup final at Wembley on May 21, Alan Pardew's squad have three Premier League matches to get through.

Although now unlikely, the Eagles still face the mathematical possibility of relegation and ahead of Saturday's trip to his former club Newcastle, Pardew invited Jones to give his current charges a pep talk on Thursday.

If they can't take on board his comments, then we're in trouble.

"We're still not mathematically safe in the Premier League, so we still have work to do, which is why I asked Eddie Jones to come in, and he had a few words with the team about complacency and about what teams do," said Pardew.

Jones was appointed England rugby head coach following the side's dismal early exit from the World Cup and inspired them a few months later to win the Six Nations tournament, clinching their first Grand Slam since 2003 in the process.

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Pardew, whose side beat Watford 2-1 in Sunday's FA Cup semi-final, added: "He's been involved in World Cups with other nations, is a multi-cultural personality, someone who is engaging. If they can't take on board his comments then we're in trouble.

"We share a couple of professional friends. Jeremy Snape [Palace sports psychologist] is one of those, and Eddie asked me about the England rugby team.

"We've been quite close since he's been here, and a lot of the views he has on trying to get more from individual players and the group run parallel with my own. Trying to get the best out of his ideas is nice for me. It was nice to have him here: good timing, what with the result we had [defeating Watford]."

The Palace boss revealed Jones' visit stemmed from a belief his players would benefit from hearing a new voice, with the talk coming on the same day Teddy Sheringham spoke to the club's academy coaches and Pardew believes the use of those speakers helps to stimulate his squad.

"I've always encouraged other coaches and managers to be involved, with comments from them," Pardew said. "The most important point [Jones made] was that great teams can get to finals, but great teams only win finals if they're great all the time. We have to be great this Saturday. That was the main key point I took from him.

"We can't turn up at Newcastle and let our standards down from Sunday otherwise we're doing a disservice to our fans and ourselves. He's given a lot of examples of how communication between the team and the coaches is important. The players just absorbed it. It's nice to hear it from somebody from a different genre, a different field, carrying the weight he does. It's a position that only great coaches and managers have.

"I worked it out that [France international] Yohan Cabaye will get a two-week holiday this year. That's a long time to stimulate a footballer. Same with [my] Wales [internationals at Euro 2016]. You've got to stimulate players and staff to try and improve yourself."

Victory for Palace at St James' Park would edge Newcastle even closer to relegation, just 17 months after Pardew left to join Palace at a time when Newcastle appeared reasonably strong. For all that he was an unpopular figure in the north-east, the manager insists he is "desperate" to see Newcastle survive, and believes they are an improving team again under Rafael Benitez.

"They're a much stronger team," said Pardew, who will monitor Wilfried Zaha before selecting his starting XI because of a leg injury the winger is carrying.

"Rafa is a very experienced manager who has managed at the top of the game, and he's got them in a much better place to win this game, and that worries me because my job is to win this game.

"The club is a beast when it's going well, but it can be equally as destructive when things aren't going well. At the moment, things are going well, so it's a big bear we'll have to fight."