Benteke alone cannot end Palace's woes, says Delaney
REUTERS - The arrival of striker Christian Benteke alone will not revive Crystal Palace's fortunes in front of goal, his team mate Damien Delaney has said, adding that the Belgium international will need better service if he is to make an impact.
Alan Pardew's side have failed to score in their opening two league defeats to West Bromwich Albion and Tottenham Hotspur, as they continue to struggle to find the back of the net after managing just 39 league goals last season.
Benteke arrived at Selhurst Park from Liverpool on a four-year deal after failing to cement a regular starting spot under manager Juergen Klopp.
"He'll (Benteke) bring a presence," defender Delaney was quoted as saying by the British media.
"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.
"We're not signing (Lionel) Messi -- he's a good player but he's not a player who is going to get the ball and make things happen."
Palace had just two shots on target in their 1-0 defeat against Spurs, and Delaney hoped the side would be more clinical in the final third, using the former Aston Villa player as a target man.
"We have to get some ammunition for him and get some crosses in the box and give him a supply," Delaney added.
"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."
Palace next face Blackpool in the League Cup on Tuesday, before hosting Bournemouth in their next league fixture on Saturday.
(Reporting by Nivedita Shankar in Bengaluru; editing by Sudipto Ganguly)