JEFFREY Schlupp believes Crystal Palace will only get better once everyone is fully fit after Eberechi Eze came on to set up the second in yesterday’s 2-0 win at Burnley.
The Eagles went into stoppage time one goal to the good thanks to Schlupp’s opener midway through the first-half, the fourth time he has struck against the Clarets.
Eze had missed the last three games with a hamstring problem, but entered the fray at Turf Moor just before the hour in place of Cheick Doucoure.
And the first day back at the office proved a fruitful one for the midfield ace, who provided the pass for Tyrick Mitchell’s decisive 94th minute effort which finally ended Burnley’s resistance.
Schlupp told cpfc.co.uk: “Everyone knows that we have had some troubles with injuries this season.
“Everyone is finally starting to get fit, with Michael Olise coming back next week hopefully.
“We know the qualities that Ebs has, so it is very important to get him on the pitch, get him some more minutes and get him match fit again.
“You can see what he does at the end: he attracts the attention, slides it to the side and puts it on a plate for T.”
Schlupp was teed up for his goal by Jordan Ayew, who committed his future to the Eagles late last week by signing a contract extension.
The combination between the two Ghanian internationals was no coincidence, however, with Schlupp revealing Ayew had told him pre-match what to do if he found himself in Burnley’s box.
“We literally spoke before game,” he explained.
“He said ‘Just make sure you come in at back post and I’ll look for you.’
“As soon as I saw him win ball back and run into the box, I just put my head down and just literally ran towards back-post, hoping he would pull it across and he did.
“I just gambled and it managed to be the perfect ball. I just thought to put my head down, trust Jordan to put it across box and he did.
“We managed to get the timing right and it was perfect.”
Roy Hodgson was happy to see his side return to winning ways after failing to taste victory in October, although he accepted his side were perhaps fortunate to do so.
The Palace boss said: “Normally if we get hold of the ball, I would have expected a little bit more from us.
“Burnley were good, they put us under a lot of pressure, so I thought it was an outstanding defensive performance throughout.
“And towards the end of the game as well, the game management was quite good, so I’m certainly not apologizing for coming away with three points.
“I’m grateful for your sense of a perfect away performance.
“But I hope I’m not being too harsh on myself if I think we can do even better, especially on the ball, than we did today.”
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