Wilfried Zaha can lead Crystal Palace to next level says Osian Roberts

Crystal Palace assistant manager Osian Roberts says that players like Wilfried Zaha are going to be key in helping Crystal Palace get to the next level and achieve more.

The skilful winger and Eagles legend has come under fire during the last week due to his sending off against Spurs, which saw him pick up two yellow cards in quick succession for fouls on Davinson Sanchez.

BT Sport studio pundit Peter Crouch described the red card as “stupid” and “reckless”, with Palace going on to lose the game 3-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Boxing Day.

Zaha went on to miss the Eagles’ 3-0 home win over Norwich during midweek but is set for a brief return against West Ham on New Year’s Day before he’ll be jetting off to the Africa Cup of Nations with Ivory Coast.

Asked by football.london what he had made of the winger since joining the club over the summer, Roberts said: “I can only go on personal experience of the last few months, and I think Wilfried is a top professional, who is hungry for success.

“He wants to be successful as an individual, and he wants to be successful in a team environment, and in order to do so you have to push yourself and you have to push your teammates.

“Patrick [Vieira, manager] is always saying to our group of players ‘you must demand more from each other’ and Wilfried is one of the first to do that.”

Roberts also spoke about what Zaha’s long-term role at Crystal Palace could be.

The Eagles have made it clear in the past that they want to finish in the top half of the Premier League and keep climbing from there. Last summer was seen by many as the first step of the club’s newest phase; with wholesale changes made to the playing squad, a new manager coming through the door in Vieira, a new owner investing into the club in John Textor and the opening of their new £20million Academy site.

The next step for Palace will be for them to start turning that into results, which Roberts says will need players like Zaha to make it happen.

“If we want to raise the bar, if we want to achieve more moving forward, which the players are ambitious to do, then players like Wilfried are really important in that process,” he added.

“He’s not one that’s going to accept mediocrity, he’s going to expect excellence every day, in training and in every game.

“He’s got a major part to play and it’s important that players like Wilfried, who have got that experience and that ability, pass on their experience and help lead the group of players to the next level.”