Joel Ward: Crystal Palace have found "identity"

Crystal Palace defender Joel Ward has insisted that the appointment of Tony Pulis has given the team an "identity".

Palace had been rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table for large parts of the campaign, but since he took charge four games ago, Pulis has overseen two victories, which has lifted the Eagles to 18th.

Reflecting on the reasoning behind the recent upturn in fortunes, Ward has claimed that Pulis is deserving of the credit.

"We have a great bunch of guys, a good manager and we are starting to really click and form an identity in the way we play. We are hard to break down and we can hurt teams. Now we will keep moving forward, keep building and can turn the season around," the London Evening Standard quotes the 24-year-old as saying.

On Saturday Palace will play host to Newcastle United at Selhurst Park.