Benteke and Co must raise games to help Eagles star

ROY HODGSON wants Wilfried Zaha’s teammates to take the burden off the Crystal Palace talisman.

And the Eagles boss believes Christian Benteke is fired up to deliver the goals he failed to produce himself last season.

Winger Zaha, who signed a new five-year deal last week, was the key figure as his side stayed up last term.

And his importance to them is underlined by the fact the Eagles haven’t won a single Premier League point without him since September 2016.

Hodgson said his star man needs help from the others but can’t be expected to offer more.

And he thinks the opposite is true with Benteke.

He scored just three league goals last season and paid the price when he failed to make Belgium’s World Cup squad.

Hodgson said: “There’s no doubt he is extremely determined this year, he’s extremely optimistic, he wants to do very well.

“There’s no questions that his attitude and his desire are right, but, of course, he has to try and translate that into performances, which will get him scoring goals or at least making certain that he’s playing well enough to help Crystal Palace win football matches.

“But if you’re asking me: is he ready for that, does he understand that, is he ready for that, is he determined really to give his absolute best and does he want it? The answer is ‘yes’.

“He definitely does want it. But it’s not easy because, after a season that hasn’t gone so well for you, people are out there straight away with a black pen, waiting to put a stripe through your name the moment you miss an easy goal chance or you miss a pass.”

Strong

But he takes on former club Liverpool tonight boasting a record of seven goals in 10 games against the Reds.

Hodgson added: “He is strong and we’re doing our very best to help him. The good thing is it’s a clean slate.

“Last season wasn’t a great personal success for him other than he was a regular member of a team that finished 11th in the league and pulled themselves away from the relegation zone.

“So if I was Christian Benteke, I’d be taking a little bit of encouragement from that and giving myself a bit of a pat on the back.

“I’d be saying, ‘OK, perhaps I didn’t score the goals but I was out there and I was part of the XI that helped us on the way’.’”