Crystal Palace boss Alan Pardew admits defeat to Watford has him worried.

The result, leaving Palace without a league victory since December 19, extended Alan Pardew's worst run since his appointment as Crystal Palace manager, and though he was pleased with their improved second-half performance, he labelled the opening 45 minutes the worst he had overseen.

"That was as poor and unbalanced a side as I can remember putting out for Palace, it just wasn't happening for us," said Pardew, whose team remained 12th with 32 points at the final whistle, four points and four places behind Watford.

"Too many long balls, it was a bit worrying if I'm honest.

"If I thought there was a complacency or lack of effort, that would really worry me. The things that worry me are technical issues, like the balance of the team, and making sure we dominate games, particularly against teams like Watford.

"It's been a difficult run. The boys' reaction after half-time was about as good as I could hope for. We were a little bit unlucky to have lost this game."