Brede Hangeland may be pleased with Crystal Palace’s form since Alan Pardew's appointment, but he is not taking his foot off the gas.

Palace have won five of their past eight matches in all competitions since Pardew took over.

Prior to his arrival, under Neil Warnock, Palace had picked up just three wins in 16 league games and were wallowing in the bottom three.

Now the Eagles sit 12th in the Premier League, five points clear of the relegation zone, and Hangeland could not be happier at the turnaround in fortune.

“We have had a big shift and improvement in our game since the new manager has come in, too,” he said.

“The morale has been good, there are good bunch of lads here, but there seems to be a good sense of direction and structure to what we’re doing.

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“If we can continue the same performances of late, things should be OK, but we’re never going to take our foot off the gas.”

Despite a good first half against Liverpool in last Saturday’s FA Cup tie, Palace were beaten 2-1 at Selhurst Park.

Second-half goals from Daniel Sturridge and Adam Lallana cancelled out Fraizer Campbell’s opener and sent the hosts out of the fifth round.

Hangeland, a £2.5m summer acquisition from Fulham, said: “It was a difficult game as Liverpool played really well and have a lot of good players going forward.

“I thought we restricted them for most parts in the first half, and although they put pressure on us we were happy with the way the game went."

He added: “It was a bad start in the second half and when you’re chasing the game, it is difficult against a team like that.

“It became an open game. You have to be realistic that they were a good team and we didn’t manage put enough balls into the box.”