Townsend targeting more consistency at Palace

Andros Townsend has made a strong start to his Crystal Palace career but the flying winger is still eyeing more consistency.

Townsend moved to Selhurst Park from Newcastle over the summer for a fee of £13million and netted his first goal for his new club in the 4-1 win over Stoke last month.

By his own admission, the 25-year-old struggled towards the end of his tenure at Tottenham before recapturing his confidence following the switch to Newcastle last January.

He has carried that over to Palace and earned an England recall when he came on as substitute against Slovenia last week.

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Yet Townsend is hoping to kick on even more and is using a couple of England team-mates as inspiration.

“I’ve started the season well but I need to build on that and do it consistently for a season, not just 11 or 12 games,” he said.

“You cannot underestimate playing regularly. We’ve seen with Raheem Sterling and with Theo Walcott this season – that consistency of playing week-in week-out breeds confidence.

“You’ve seen especially those two players, how well they’ve played this season compared to the end of last season. You can’t underestimate what confidence is for a winger.

“As a forward player you need to play week-in week-out and that has been my problem over the last few years. But I went to Newcastle and played and now it is the same at Palace and I’m playing in the form that I know I can.

“All forward players are striving for consistency. One of the things aimed at me a few years ago was that I wasn’t consistent.

“I need to do it on a more consistent basis, and that is what I’m working towards.”