Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson has said it is unfair to pin the team’s survival hopes on Wilfried Zaha.
The Ivory Coast international made his return from a knee injury as his side picked up their first win of the season in the English Premier League clash against Chelsea.
And after Zaha’s virtuoso performance against Antonio Conte’s men, he has been touted to lift the Eagles out of the relegation zone but the former England manager believes it is cruel to pin their survival hopes on the winger insisting the whole team will have to fight to ‘get out of the mess they are in’.
“He [Zaha] is a top-class player, he has been a talisman for Palace in the past,” Hodgson said during his pre-match press conference.
“But football is a team game, it’s unfair to suggest that it’s down to one man to get us out of the mess we are in.
“I was delighted for him, it was a good performance especially having been out for six weeks.
“He really is very, very concerned with the club, I think he’s probably been suffering despite not being on the field.
“I am hoping we’ll get another 30 performances like that again,” he concluded.
Zaha will be looking to help Crystal Palace continue their push to leave the bottom of the Premier League table when they visit St. James’ Park to tackle Christian Atsu’s Newcastle in their next fixture on Saturday afternoon.
Let’