Speaking to Sky Sports, Alan Pardew has looked back on his time in the Eredivisie with ADO Den Haag.
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The Englishman was appointed ADO Den Haag boss in January and was in charge of eight games, winning only one. The KNVB saved ADO from relegation, but Pardew was not kept on by the Eredivisie side.
Pardew told Sky Sports he almost changed his mind about taking over the club after seeing their 6-1 loss to Ajax, “It was a strange start, and I seem to have strange starts at most clubs! They were playing against Ajax, and I was over there for that weekend to finalise the deal.
“My motivation was to work abroad. I wasn’t going to get a top job after what happened at West Brom, so I thought to myself: ‘This looks like a good opportunity,’ and they were really struggling.
“Although I kind of agreed before the Ajax game, and then after the Ajax game I might have changed my mind. It was a complete thumping… it was six but it could have been 10!
“I was really thinking: ‘Wow… this could be much more difficult than I had imagined.’ But I did enjoy it!”
Pardew thinks the quality in the Eredivisie is high, but also thinks the gap between top and bottom is huge, “Some of the teams were very, very good. There was a good standard there, and I think four or five of those could easily compete in the Premier League.
“The difference between top and bottom was vast. Much, much bigger than I had experienced in the Premier League and Championship for sure.
“Does it help Dutch teams in the Champions League because they don’t have to be at it in the league? I think it does. I experienced the disparity. When we came up against PSV and AZ, the technical disparity was so big. They can probably change six or seven players before a European game.”