Alan Pardew has said that he expects Connor Wickham to be "influential" for Crystal Palace, despite the striker having not scored since joining the club in the summer.
The forward, who signed from Sunderland in August, has made seven appearances without finding the back of the net for the Eagles, who face Southampton in the Premier League tomorrow.
The manager said at his pre-match press conference: "I look at him in training and, he hasn't scored yet but that doesn't bother me, I've worked with enough strikers to know he's going to score goals and the rest of his game is coming together.
"I'm really pleased with what he does for us. He'll be influential tomorrow, even if he doesn't score. He affects the opposition and he's done that really well in the last two games."
Palace sit sixth in the league table heading into this weekend's fixture.
