Kone praise for Defoe and Ndong

against West Brom this weekend, we have to now quickly look to win the next game.”

After a long-drawn out saga, the 27-year-old finally signed a new five-year deal this summer after strong interest from Everton, who lodged an £18million bid.

Since returning from a back injury, the Ivory Coast international has partnered £8million summer signing Papy Djilobodji, who has come under criticism for his recent performances.

“Yes, it is a new defence,” added Kone.

“I have been playing alongside Papy, but it is okay. There is no problem.”

Patrick van Aanholt was the defensive weak link against Palace, with Joe Ledley’s goal deflecting off his boot to make it 2-1 before James McArthur beat him in the air to equalise.

Christian Benteke then comfortably beat Jan Kirchhoff in the air to power home a header in added-on time to take all three points back to London.

The crushing defeat means Sunderland are still searching for their first league win.

There were, however, some positives for David Moyes.

Club record signing Didier Ndong impressed on his first home start with his non-stop running and crunching tackles, while Defoe now has four Premier League goals to his name.

Kone, who played alongside Ndong in Ligue 1 at former club Lorient, said: “Didier is a good player.

“He ran a lot, he has a lot of energy which is good for the team. He is very aggressive in his play and he is a really good player. “We need Didier. “Jermain is very important for the team too.

“He scored two goals – he is very important for the next game against West Bromwich Albion.

“Three points is very important for us against West Brom, especially before the international break.”