If Crystal Palace are going to survive in the Premier League this season, it will take more than talent alone, according to midfielder Andros Townsend.
The Eagles find themselves 16th in the standings with seven matches of the campaign remaining, just two points from safety, having played a game more than both West Ham and Southampton.
But the England international midfielder is confident they can dig themselves out of the situation but is equally aware how fragile the team’s situation is.
“Talent alone is never enough,” the 26-year-old told his club’s official website. “During my time at QPR and Newcastle I was told week in, week out: “Your team is too good to go down, you’ll be all right.” But it doesn’t work out that way. It’s the ones who get down on the pitch and get the three points who survive.
“That’s what I’ve learnt – no matter how good you are, no matter how many good players you have around you, that’s not enough. You’ve got to go out there and get it on a Saturday afternoon.”
Palace survived from a similarly precarious position last term, and Townsend believes that will stand his side in good stead.
“We were in the same situation last year, with the same group of players, where we were written off about this time in the season, around February or March, and then we came from nowhere to string a few wins together and get out of it,” he said.
“We have that know-how in the group, we can deal with these types of situations and that’s definitely going to stand us in good stead. We’ve got the hunger, we’ve got the desire and, most importantly, we’ve got the talent in that dressing room to get on with it.”
Palace play host to Liverpool on Saturday in their next Premier League outing.
