Chris Perry 'had lost confidence' says Alan Pardew

Despite Perry being in the veteran stage of his career at 36, Pardew insists that players can still suffer a crisis of self-belief when they are playing in a losing team – just as he did at Barnet.

Perry seemed outwardly confident, even declaring himself ‘still the best defender at the club’ when Radhi Jaidi arrived back in September.

But Pardew sensed that so long playing in a losing team had affected him.

As a result, he left him out of league action for almost two and a half months.

The centre half’s return to the side came as a result of Neal Trotman’s suspension for the FA Cup tie at Northampton last weekend.

And after an impressive performance at Sixfields, he kept his place for the game against Wycombe on Tuesday where another good display helped Saints to their first clean sheet in 15 league and games.

Pardew said: “I thought when I arrived Chris was lacking a bit of confidence.

“You might think that unusual with a player of his age and experience, but I remember when I was finishing my career at Barnet I lost my confidence for a little period.

“When you’re not in a winning team it affects you and you start looking at yourself.

“We’ve given him time to look at himself and he’s come back and he looks much better.

“He was an important factor in the team on Tuesday night and he saved a certain goal when Radhi made a mistake.”