James McArthur has said Crystal Palace boss Alan Pardew could manage virtually anywhere because he is “just a good manager”.

The Eagles midfielder was praising the work Pardew has done in lifting his side from relegation battlers to a team that is challenging to get into the top six.

And despite the defeat to Sunderland on Monday night, McArthur is in no doubt that they are in good hands going into Saturday’s fixture against Newcastle – another team where Pardew enjoyed success.

“He’s just a good manager,” the 28-year-old said.

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“He’s done it at Newcastle and he’s done it here.

“You look at Newcastle, when he left they struggled a bit to cope with losing him and we kicked right on. He’s doing a great job this year.”

Asked why the current Palace manager was perhaps under-appreciated in the North East, McArthur insisted it wasn’t for the lack of achievement.

“Expectations up there are a lot higher, he did a fantastic job [at Newcastle],” he said.

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“You look at them getting fifth place, that’s some achievement.

“The run they’ve been on recently shows you just how important he was last year when he left.”

The Scotland international suggested Pardew might have added incentive to show Newcastle what they missed out on, but assured fans the players are focused on making up for their defeat to Sunderland.

“All of us are,” he said. “We want to do it for the manager, we want to do it for everyone – for the fans – to make things right.”

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