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Alan Pardew remains "confident" of taking charge of Crystal Palace for the first time in Sunday's FA Cup third round tie at Dover, sources have told ESPN. Pardew's coronation as Palace boss has been delayed in the last 48 hours as haggling over the fine print of his move from Newcastle is finalised, with reports on Friday suggesting that a 3.5 million-pound compensation deal had finally been concluded with the St James' Park club. Caretaker Palace boss Keith Millen confirmed on Friday that Pardew was playing a role in the preparation of the team for the game against non-league Dover, even though he has yet to be given the green light to officially start work at Palace. "They're still talking, but there are no problems. The lawyers are finalising the contract. The paperwork is taking longer than expected," said Millen. "Alan has held a staff meeting when he spoke about a number of things. He spoke to the players and then we had training. We're preparing for the game on Sunday and I'm sure Alan will be taking the game. He'll be taking training on Saturday. We're hopeful the deal will be done for Sunday." Now it appears as if the final strands of red tape are being trimmed ahead of Pardew's first game in charge, with Millen widely expected to remain as part of the club's backroom staff under the new manager. Meanwhile, odds makers in the UK have slashed the odds on Derby manager Steve McClaren replacing Pardew at Newcastle, with former Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood also among the early favourites for the St James' Park hot seat.
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