Crystal Palace midfielder James McArthur says they would have ‘100 percent’ lost to West Ham if it was at the start of the season.

A Christian Benteke opener was cancelled out by a Mark Noble penalty shortly before half-time, before Bakary Sako exited with a foot injury in the 1-1 draw.

Frank de Boer failed to win a single Premier League game during his historically short tenure at Selhurst Park before being replaced by Roy Hodgson, but confidence appears to have returned - particularly ahead of this Sunday's clash with Newcastle United.

McArthur said: “The manager will tell us what went wrong, what we should have done better, but I think it shows you where we’ve come. At the start of the season we would have 100 percent lost that game. Now we do enough to get a point.

“We didn’t play well enough, especially in the first half. In the second half we controlled it a bit better but we’re disappointed not to get the three points. But, at the same time, when you come away from home to get a point then you need to take it.

“We could have nicked it but I think probably a point was a fair result.”

At the time of writing, only five points separate 10th spot – Bournemouth – and the first of the three relegation places in Southampton.

Roy Hodgson’s men have picked up eight points in their last six games, with Bournemouth, West Ham and Swansea having accrued more, with clashes against three of the top six clubs to come in the following months.

McArthur added: “There’s a lot more pressure on that [Newcastle] game now but we need to put pressure on ourselves as well to go out and win that match. If you take four points from two games then everyone would have bit your hand off but as we say there is more pressure on that game.

“We’ve got a good squad. You look at the squad with all the injuries we’ve got and the injuries we keep getting, and we’re still putting a very good side out. So credit to the manager and upstairs for putting a good squad together, we just need to keep going as I say and keep producing.

“It’s massive, it’s a really important game. But tonight was just as important. We’ve got a point, now we need to go and win at home and it will be a good week.”