JORDAN Ayew says he is enjoying the challenge of setting up Odsonne Edouard to score even more goals for Crystal Palace.
The Eagles are still having to adapt to life without Wilfried Zaha following the departure of the creative winger to Galatasaray in the summer.
Palace have also been hit by an unwanted injury crisis with the likes of Michael Olise, Mattheus Franca and Eberechi Eze among those on the sidelines.
All of this goes some way to explain why Roy Hodgson’s side have only scored seven Premier League goals to date ahead of Saturday’s trip to Newcastle United.
But Edouard has four of them, two of which were assisted by Ayew, and the Ghanian international is keen to continue feeding the former Celtic striker and help the Eagles move on from the Zaha era.
Ayew told cpfc.co.uk: “When Wilf was here, it was the same ambition I had.
“Obviously Wilf has done great things for the club, he was a really big player for us.
“But now that he’s not here, there are other players with quality who can step in and do something for the team.
“Odsonne has done it before, he did it at Celtic.
“We just need to make sure he has opportunities each game.
“Our job is to make sure that he has chances, then it’s his job to finish them. We know he will score.
“He shows it in training every day and no doubt if we have confidence in the game, he can – and will – do it.
“That’s what we as a team are trying to do – we’re all trying to contribute for the team to be successful.”
Ayew has been a consistent and regular performer at Selhurst since initially joining on loan from Swansea five years ago, a move that was made permanent the following summer.
The majority of that time has been spent under the managership of Roy Hodgson, a figure Ayew clearly regards very highly.
He explained: “I’d worked with Roy before. He, Dougie Freedman and Steve Parish brought me to the club.
“The manager knows my qualities and gives me a bit more freedom and more responsibility to perform on the pitch.
“Since he’s come in again, it’s been so positive here.
“Everything seems to be heading in the right direction and we are here to support him.
“He’s very active.
“You might think he’s a quiet guy but no, he gets involved.
“In training he’s everywhere on the pitch giving us tips and advice.
“He’s very lively – he shouts, he screams and he has a lot of energy.”
Despite all the injury problems, Palace still sit in a respectable ninth in the table, just one place and point behind this weekend’s big-spending opponents Newcastle United.
They may not get as much media attention as the Geordies and some of the other bigger clubs in the top flight, but Ayew is confident his side still have what it takes to compete at the highest level.
He said: “As a team at Crystal Palace, we are humble. We know our qualities, we know our strengths and we know what we can do.
“We have a good team and a good squad. We go into each game with a lot of expectations and we are always hopeful we can perform very well.
“You can’t really control the result, but the most important thing is that we keep on performing well and keep that consistency.”
Ayew added: “We want to finish as high in the Premier League as possible. We relish every game.
“It’s a blessing playing in the Premier League and when you do, you have to enjoy every second you’re on the pitch.”
When Wilf was here, it was the same ambition I had,” he explains.
