Alan Pardew hailed Crystal Palace’s ‘special’ fans after their FA Cup triumph.

The Eagles beat Manchester City at Wembley Stadium on Saturday thanks to Eberechi Eze’s first half strike.

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Pardew was emotional as he reacted to Palace’s FA Cup triumph[/caption]

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The Eagles won their first major trophy by beating City on Saturday[/caption]

It secured the first major trophy in the club’s 119-year history in their third FA Cup final.

Pardew was involved in both of their previous appearances, firstly as a player in 1990.

He started both matches against Manchester United as Palace were ultimately beaten in a replay.

The former Eagles boss then repeated the feat as manager in 2016, only to lose in extra-time to United once again.

Despite not being at Wembley on Saturday, Pardew marked the victory on The Final Word.

Wearing a red and blue tie, he explained: “I’ve got the Crystal Palace tie on for this massive, momentous day celebrating our first ever major trophy at Crystal Palace.”

The 63-year-old revealed he watched the match at home despite being offered a ticket.

An emotional Pardew added: “I watched it at home. I took that decision because I couldn’t sit upstairs after losing as a player, losing as a manager and then possibly losing as a director of Crystal Palace was sitting up there.

“I thought to myself no I couldn’t, I couldn’t bear it. The pain of losing still hurts.

“So I watched it at home in private but I did get invited by Steve and the guys there and I’ll go down Tuesday to the Wolves game and celebrate with all those fans who were absolutely magnificent yesterday.”

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The former Palace boss was beaten in the FA Cup final as both a player and manager[/caption]

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Pardew revealed the pain of previous FA Cup finals meant he watched from home[/caption]

Palace host Wolves at Selhurst Park on Tuesday in their final home match of the season.

The club have also announced an event to mark their FA Cup victory on May 26.

It will be held the day after their last Premier League fixture against champions Liverpool at Anfield.

Explaining his decision not to attend the final in person, Pardew continued: “I couldn’t and it’s hard to describe the pain of a cup final defeat and I was so desperate for them to win yesterday.

“It’s a long journey to win a cup final. You need to go through a lot of processes and that club’s building and building. It was a long time since we got to the cup final 1990.

“Then it was 26 years later when I took them there as manager and now with a nine-year period and Oliver’s managed to get it over the line with an outstanding team.

“They really were one of the great defensive displays in a cup final and secured it and actually all through the game.

“I’m obviously watching that sober. I wasn’t having a drink or anything watching those fans sing the whole game. It was magnificent to see.

“The League Cup when Newcastle fans made the stadium something else made it special and they won a trophy and then Palace did it again yesterday. It’s been a great season for fans I think.”

Pardew initially spent four years at Selhurst Park as a player between 1987 and 1991.

He later returned as manager in 2015, winning 35 of his 87 matches in charge during a 23-month tenure.

Palace’s FA Cup win has also earned the club a place in next season’s Europa League.

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Palace’s fans were hailed by Pardew for creating a ‘special’ atmosphere[/caption]

It will be their first European campaign, with Oliver Glasner’s side entering the tournament in the league phase.

The club’s only previous continental experience saw them lose to Turkish side Samsunspor in the Intertoto Cup back in 1998.