Alan Pardew is enjoying the best of honeymoon periods as the new boss of Crystal Palace, but he knows darker days lay ahead.

Saturday’s 3-2 win at Burnley, thanks to goals from Dwight Gayle (two) and Jason Puncheon, had the boss purring over his side’s fighting spirit.

It means Palace have won three out of three since Pardew took over the reins.

He also enjoyed the support of the Palace fans at Turf Moor, but is prepared for less favourable reaction in the months to come.

Pardew hails the Palace fighting spirit

He said: “It’s always nice to have the fans behind you. Some of the press talk about support at Newcastle United was completely unfounded, but it was at times difficult.

“I always tried to be dignified towards them and I will do the same at Palace.”

He added: “It won’t always be this positive, so we should enjoy the chants [at Burnley], but we have some difficult days ahead.

“It is all about focussing on what is important in football, and that’s winning games, and trying to win the next one which is what we’ll do this week.”