Ronald Koeman believes Alan Pardew has turned Crystal Palace into a much tougher side than the one Southampton so easily overcame a month ago. Saints' 3-1 triumph at Selhurst Park on Boxing Day proved the catalyst for change in south London. Neil Warnock was promptly sacked by the struggling Eagles, who head into Saturday's FA Cup fourth-round tie at St Mary's riding the crest of a wave. Alan Pardew left his post at Newcastle United earlier this month to replace Neil Warnock at Crystal Palace . Jason Puncheon scores for Crystal Palace during a 3-2 comeback win for Pardew's side away at Burnely . Southampton boss Ronald Koeman has heaped praise on Pardew for the turnaround he has overseen . The appointment of Pardew has brought with it an impressive change in fortunes at Palace, with their former player overseeing three successive wins in all competitions. 'They have a spirit in the team, the confidence and they have had a great start (under Pardew),' Koeman said of Palace. 'The first win (against Dover) was normally an easy FA Cup round for them, but the first victory in the Premier League against Tottenham Hotspur gave everybody confidence. 'At the moment they are more difficult to beat than over Christmas on Boxing Day. 'They have new players and a new manager and that always means some changes in tactics or organisation in the team and I think the manager is more happy than he was before, and that's important.' Crystal Palace forward Dwight Gayle has been in superb form for The Eagles since Pardew took over . Pardew, who spent four years as a player at Selhurst Park, has proved very popular with Eagles fans . Palace sit 13th in the standings ahead of Pardew's trip to the club he led to the Johnstone's Paint Trophy in 2010. Jose Fonte started that 4-1 defeat of Carlisle and will captain Saints this weekend as they continue their campaign to reach Wembley for the first time since then. 'I am lucky,' Koeman said. 'I don't have a lot of numbers of players to think about to make changes. 'The players who wasn't available in the last week are still not available for this weekend. 'That means we have 17 or 18 players and of that 17 or 18 players we have already five or six Under-21 players. 'There is no time and no reason to think about making changes and we will put out the strongest team we can.' Southampton's 2-1 win against Newcastle last weekend extended their unbeaten run to eight games . Toby Alderweireld, Victor Wanyama and Morgan Schneiderlin are among those unavailable, joining long-term absentees Sam Gallagher and Jay Rodriguez in the treatment room. International commitments mean Sadio Mane, Emmanuel Mayuka and Maya Yoshida further reduce numbers, but Saints do have the momentum of a eight-match unbeaten run on their side and a sell-out St Mary's crowd. 'We had some days off this week, we didn't play during the week,' Koeman said. 'The players are back in a good freshness and in a mental way I think the players are very strong because we are winning. 'We had a great week last week with very good results in difficult games and we like to go on.' Victor Wanyama tackling Manchester City's Yaya Toure during the Premier League game in November .
Ronald Koeman says Crystal Palace have improved under Alan Pardew .
Pardew replaced Neil Warnock as Eagles boss earlier this month .
He has led them to three successive victories since taking over .
Southampton take on Palace in the FA Cup fourth-round on Saturday .
Saints beat Palace 3-1 in their previous meeting on Boxing Day .
Ronald Koeman believes Alan Pardew has turned Crystal Palace into a much tougher side than the one Southampton so easily overcame a month ago. Saints' 3-1 triumph at Selhurst Park on Boxing Day proved the catalyst for change in south London. Neil Warnock was promptly sacked by the struggling Eagles, who head into Saturday's FA Cup fourth-round tie at St Mary's riding the crest of a wave. Alan Pardew left his post at Newcastle United earlier this month to replace Neil Warnock at Crystal Palace . Jason Puncheon scores for Crystal Palace during a 3-2 comeback win for Pardew's side away at Burnely . Southampton boss Ronald Koeman has heaped praise on Pardew for the turnaround he has overseen . The appointment of Pardew has brought with it an impressive change in fortunes at Palace, with their former player overseeing three successive wins in all competitions. 'They have a spirit in the team, the confidence and they have had a great start (under Pardew),' Koeman said of Palace. 'The first win (against Dover) was normally an easy FA Cup round for them, but the first victory in the Premier League against Tottenham Hotspur gave everybody confidence. 'At the moment they are more difficult to beat than over Christmas on Boxing Day. 'They have new players and a new manager and that always means some changes in tactics or organisation in the team and I think the manager is more happy than he was before, and that's important.' Crystal Palace forward Dwight Gayle has been in superb form for The Eagles since Pardew took over . Pardew, who spent four years as a player at Selhurst Park, has proved very popular with Eagles fans . Palace sit 13th in the standings ahead of Pardew's trip to the club he led to the Johnstone's Paint Trophy in 2010. Jose Fonte started that 4-1 defeat of Carlisle and will captain Saints this weekend as they continue their campaign to reach Wembley for the first time since then. 'I am lucky,' Koeman said. 'I don't have a lot of numbers of players to think about to make changes. 'The players who wasn't available in the last week are still not available for this weekend. 'That means we have 17 or 18 players and of that 17 or 18 players we have already five or six Under-21 players. 'There is no time and no reason to think about making changes and we will put out the strongest team we can.' Southampton's 2-1 win against Newcastle last weekend extended their unbeaten run to eight games . Toby Alderweireld, Victor Wanyama and Morgan Schneiderlin are among those unavailable, joining long-term absentees Sam Gallagher and Jay Rodriguez in the treatment room. International commitments mean Sadio Mane, Emmanuel Mayuka and Maya Yoshida further reduce numbers, but Saints do have the momentum of a eight-match unbeaten run on their side and a sell-out St Mary's crowd. 'We had some days off this week, we didn't play during the week,' Koeman said. 'The players are back in a good freshness and in a mental way I think the players are very strong because we are winning. 'We had a great week last week with very good results in difficult games and we like to go on.' Victor Wanyama tackling Manchester City's Yaya Toure during the Premier League game in November .
Ronald Koeman believes Alan Pardew has turned Cup fourth-round tie at St Mary's riding the Newcastle United earlier this month to replace Neil Warnock at Crystal Palace . Jason Puncheon Southampton boss Ronald Koeman has heaped praise their former player overseeing three successive over Christmas on Boxing Day. 'They have new Eagles fans . Palace sit 13th in the standings