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Palace boss Alan Pardew: FA Cup gives you an affinity with the fans

Alan Pardew wants to banish his nearly-man reputation in the FA Cup and lead his Crystal Palace side all the way to Wembley glory.

The 53-year-old lost as a player whilst with the Eagles as Manchester United lifted the trophy in 1990 after a replay, and came within seconds of leading West Ham to the famous cup in 2006 only for Steven Gerrard to thrash home a stoppage-time equaliser -- with Liverpool going on to win on penalties.

Since then Pardew's luck has been in short supply, winning just one FA Cup tie in his near-four-year reign at Newcastle before he left the club to return to Selhurst Park at the start of the year.

But he led Palace to victory at Dover in the third round, his first game in charge, and visits another former club in Southampton on Saturday looking to push on for another tilt at the trophy.

"I've had a couple of near shaves,'' he said. "I think I've been in a winning position after 12 minutes against Man United and it got away from us. And about two minutes against Liverpool.

"So it would be nice to get a big trophy over the line but they're not easy to come by in today's game when you're at clubs with such a disadvantage but the club does even it up. The chance of us winning the Premier League is more or less zero or one percent I should think. But winning the cup is a possibility.''

Pardew knows how a good cup run as a manager can endear you to the club's fans -- something he has already enjoyed since being appointed as Neil Warnock's successor in south London given his previous spell with the club.

"We (West Ham) came within two minutes of winning it, a penalty shoot-out -- my god,'' he said when asked about his links with the competition.

"It gives you an affinity with the fans, here (at Palace) and at West Ham. Every West Ham fan that talks to me talks about the FA Cup final, they ingrain you into the history of a football cub so it is very important for a manager's CV, his ego and his personal ambition. It is an opportunity I think.''

Pardew could be forgiven for spinning his FA Cup yarns to his players ahead of their tricky tie at St Mary's, but he is loath to do so -- backing his side in a difficult game.

"Sometimes I might use an example of the fighting spirit from cups in the past but I don't really bring up my time too much, it can get a bit boring for players. They would just say, 'Oh yeah? When was that, when the ark was built?','' he said.

"For us, this group are a good fighting team and should make for a good cup team, they don't throw the towel in even when they are under heavy pressure. Cup games ebb and flow and you get surprising results. I think it would be a surprise if we beat them but it is possible.''

The trip to the south coast will not be the first time Pardew has revisited the club he managed for a 13-month spell until a falling out with then-chairman Nicola Cortese in August 2010. He helped rebuild Southampton and led them to the Football League Trophy and admits he enjoys seeing their successes and his role within it.

"I get a lot of satisfaction from seeing a few players we had,'' he added. "In particular (Jason) Puncheon, (Rickie) Lambert and Adam Lallana a little bit. I think they are three great guys and I've followed their careers since. I take a lot of pride in that they have done so brilliantly.

"I don't really look for praise, to be honest. I think when you go into a football club you try to put some foundations down and I've tried to do that at all my clubs.

"I thought we were good in the transfer market at Southampton in the first year I was there. We brought in Rickie Lambert, Dean Hammond and Jose Fonte and they went through all the divisions with them. Puncheon as well. And we picked them up for peanuts really.''

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