The centre-back insists Benteke ‘isn’t Messi’, and will need support from his teammates if he is to fire Palace up the table.
Benteke recently completed a move from Liverpool
Damien Delaney has warned Crystal Palace fans not to expect new signing Christian Benteke to play Lionel Messi’s role at Barcelona and win games single-handedly, the Daily Express has reported.
A 1-0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend condemned Palace to their second loss in as many games, leaving boss Alan Pardew to pin his hopes on Benteke to score the goals needed to kickstart his side’s season.
The Belgian international finalised his move to Selhurst Park on the same day as that defeat at White Hart Lane and could make his debut against League Two outfit Blackpool in the EFL Cup on Tuesday.
But while delighted to see the club sign the forward, Delaney insists Benteke will need the right service if he is to rediscover his best form and fire Palace up the table.
According to the Daily Express, he said: “He’s a handful and we’ve got Connor Wickham as well so we have two very good centre forwards. Now it’s time we stopped talking about things and started winning games.
“[But] we’re not signing Messi – he’s a good player but he’s not a player who is going to get the ball and make things happen.
“We have to get some ammunition for him and get some crosses in the box and give him a supply.
“You can say we’re not scoring goals but we’re not creating a whole lot of chances which also comes back to the midfielders and defenders getting better service to the front players.”
As well as a recent lack of goals, Palace are in the middle of a woeful 2016, having won just two league games in the calendar year.
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