Alan Pardew has admitted that his Crystal Palace side are conceding too many goals and that they must tighten up the defensive part of their game.
Speaking to reportersahead of his side's clash against Manchester United on Wednesday, Pardew explained:"Ten goals in three games but we need to tighten up, Southampton (a 3-0 win on Dec. 3) was the benchmark.
"Defending is a team duty. Everyone has a responsibility to defend, even the substitutes. That's something we want to improve on. Sometimes our substitutes haven't shored us up as well as they should have."
Palace concede with 3 or 4 in defence and 8 goals now against poor sides at the bottom recently #cpfc
Pardew's side have scored an impressive 27 goals in their previous 15, however they have also conceded 29 in the same period.
Although Pardew has seen better performances recently, he still believes there's still a need for more:"We were pleased with how we defended set-pieces at the weekend, that's one little box ticked. Now we need to get back to Southampton."
Palace's current run of only one win in their last nine games leaves the south-Londoners 15th and only three points off of the relegation zone, going into the halfway point of the season.
People who want us to lose tommorow so Pardew will be sacked are stupid, yes I also want him gone but i don't want us to lose #cpfc
Their lack of solidarity at the back has seen many Palace fans asking for Pardew to be sacked. A recent meeting between the club's owners and Steve Parish resulted in Pardew having to be defended by his chairman when the owners were keen to let the 55-year-old go
Palace will be looking for a successful start to their busy winter period but they know United won't be an easy game. The Red Devils are going into the game off the back of a fine 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur.
To add further concern to Wednesday's game for Palace fans, Jason Puncheon is to miss the game due to suspension.