Cape Town - Crystal
Palace manager Roy Hodgson says that he hasn't been surprised by
Wilfried Zaha's impressive performances because he has improved every
season.
The 24-year-old winger sneaked in a 97th-minute equaliser at the weekend to clinch a point for the Eagles in a 2-2 draw with West Ham United, after also scoring the winner against Chelsea in their previous Premier League outing.
Hodgson has been delighted by the Ivory Coast international's performances since returning from injury and believes he has shown consistent improvement.
“Wilfried Zaha is still not playing as an out-and-out centre forward, we don’t have anyone for that position," Hodgson said after the West Ham draw, according to South London Press.
“Wilf has always been prepared to cut in from wide positions and run the channels like Andros Townsend. We’re trying to get him to operate in the attacking positions where he is most comfortable. I was very pleased with the number of shots we got in – because we haven’t done that enough this season.
“Wilf got his reward in the end and he had shown his intention throughout the second half when he was peppering their goal and giving their defence a lot of problems. I’m not surprised by how well Wilf has played.
“I had seen him play a lot for Palace when I was England manager, apart from when he was involved in the squad, and I’ve seen him improve season on season.”
Palace next travel to Wembley Stadium to face Tottenham Hotspur in an English Premiership clash on Sunday.
Kick off is at 14:00.