Pardew relishing Palace final

West Ham 2-0 Ipswich

West Ham manager Alan Pardew is excited about the prospect of taking on Crystal Palace for a place in the Premiership.

"Iain Dowie has done a tremendous job at Palace but one of us will lose and the prize is the biggest in English football," he said of the final.

"Both teams have a huge responsibility but I feel we will put on a good show.

"The size of this club is enormous and we want to get into the top six of the Premiership - we have taken a small stride towards that," Pardew added.

The Hammers overcame a sticky start to life in Division One, particularly in front of their demanding fans at Upton Park, and Pardew believes they deserve to be one game away from the top flight.

"We've had one of those seasons, it's been tough for us, but we kept our belief and the performance here was exceptional," he said.

"We've been accused of certain things but we've come through all of it and put on a fantastic performance.

"No-one can say we didn't warrant winning 2-0. We will celebrate but we know the job is not done yet."