March 20 2018

Andros Townsend

Andros Townsend says Crystal Palace must maintain the same desire shown in the win over Huddersfield Town if they are to stay up.

The Eagles ended a four-game losing run to dispatch relegation rivals Huddersfield 2-0 on Saturday after goals from James Tomkins and Luka Milivojevic.

Townsend experienced an unsuccessful relegation fight with Newcastle United two years ago and knows more than many what it takes to beat the drop.

"In a relegation battle you need more than talent," said the former Tottenham Hotspur winger.

"You need heart and desire. You need everything we showed out there, and we’re going to need that same attitude in the last seven games if we’re going to survive.

"We’ve had a lot of injuries to key players at key moments. Hopefully everyone’s on the way back, and we can have a strong end to the season and finish on a high."

Townsend believes the return of talisman Wilfried Zaha is a major fillip for Palace's prospects of staying in the Premier League after the Huddersfield win moved them out of the bottom three.

"Yeah, I think that’s a massive boost – Wilf," Townsend said. "The stats when he’s not in the team – I don’t need to harp on about it, but he’s an incredible player for us.

"We need to keep him fit if we’re going to survive and get more performances from him like he did and drag us to more victories."