Roy Hodgson is confident Crystal Palace will not "catapult" towards relegation after moving closer to securing Premier League football for next season.
The Eagles sealed a third consecutive win by a 1-0 scoreline after Jordan Ayew's first-half strike helped them battle past Watford.
It means Palace are now 12 points clear of the relegation zone with nine games remaining and remarkably just six points off the top four, with Chelsea playing on Sunday.
Hodgson hailed his side's "fantastic" run of form but urged his players not to get ahead of themselves and reach the 40-point mark first.
"The fact is 30 points to 39 is a fantastic lift and we've done it within three games and with nine games to play," he said.
"I have such faith and confidence in this group of players and team that I cannot imagine they will let this go and we will start catapulting down the league and we find ourselves once again in enormous relegation danger, but you do never know.
"It would be foolish of me to say that can't happen or won't happen because things happen in football that no one understands.
"No one expected Liverpool to be so many points ahead with nine games left to play so things happen, but it is in our hands and we have broken the back of our season.
"We have given ourselves a task now of needing to get a point a game to finish in a comfortable position and I am fully expecting the players to do that."
