Patrick Vieira shares praise for Palace frontline's work ethic
Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira was full of praise for three of his frontmen after the side's recent high-scoring success.
He was asked to comment on three - Jordan Ayew, Christian Benteke and Wilfried Zaha - and found praise for each of their various characteristics.
With the discussion prompted by Benteke's brace against Burnley, Vieira went on to commend the entire trio.
Here's what he had to say.
Jordan Ayew
"The only thing Jordan is missing at the moment is the goal to give him the confidence he needs. Outside of that his work ethic for the team is fantastic. When you’re making the squad you don’t just look at the goals, you look at the work ethic, the sacrifice they’re making.
"I’m happy with the way Jordan’s working at the moment but he needs to score those goals. The way he’s working for the team, he deserves to score goals."
Christian Benteke
[What have you done to change his game?] "Nothing really. I think again it’s all credit to Christian. He showed he wants to be part of this football club. The fact we brought in [Odsonne] Edouard as well, bringing challenges for those players to challenge themselves. Christian is up for the fight to show everybody he wants to be part of what the football club is trying to do.
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"He put his head down, is working really hard and is close to his best. He’s playing with confidence, belief and he can score goals. When you score goals you believe even more in yourself. When the team are playing well, with confidence, it allows players to express themselves. We have to maintain that."
Wilfried Zaha
"He shows how good he is by his work ethic. He showed a lot of people wrong that he can work for the team out of possession as well. His quality in the one v one and scoring goals is something he’s used to doing in the Premier League.
"The challenge for him now is doing it week after week. I know he’s capable of doing it and I expect him to. He’s got the talent, the experience, is one of our leaders and that comes with responsibility. I want him to perform week after week."