Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson has called on his side to ensure that Wilfried Zaha is not under too much pressure to pull them out of the relegation zone.
As quoted by the Daily Mail, the Eagles manager discussed Zaha’s fitness levels, with the Ivorian international having only recently returned from injury.
Zaha is Palace’s most dangerous attacking player and is sure to be key for the club as they bid to remain in the Premier League this season. However, Hodgson has urged Zaha’s teammates to ease the pressure on him by turning in exciting attacking performances themselves.
The points tally (minus Zaha) is documented. We don’t get as many when he’s not playing, and don’t score as many goals. Obviously we miss him, so it will be very good to get him back on the field. He came on at half-time at Chelsea. He did extremely well when he came on.
We’re hoping he’ll start where he left off. When he got injured six weeks ago he was playing very well. We hope he’s going to hit the ground running and do the same for us again.
After a good start to life at Selhurst Park, Hodgson has seen his side slip down the table and they are now in a tricky situation as they sit in 18th place.
The bottom half is tight, though, and Hodgson will be backing Zaha and his men to help lead the club away from the dangers of relegation down to the Championship this season.
There’s no doubt he was playing exceptionally well, but players have periods of form, and neither Wilf nor I can guarantee that he’s going to be able to find that level of form again, which probably put him as one of the most desired players outside of the top six.
We hope so, and believe it, and there’s no doubt Wilf will be doing his absolute best to show that, but I’d rather not put him under that much pressure. I’m expecting the energy levels, the enthusiasm, and determination to be high from everybody.
