Crystal Palace defender Cheikhou Kouyate says the players are happy with the way they've started the season.

Assessing Palace's opening fixtures, Kouyate revealed what coming into the new season felt like and how he believes the Eagles have started the current campaign.

“We work hard in the beginning," he said. “The team spirit is very, very good; we need to play hard, we need to win some points.

“And the first time we see we are going to play the first game against Southampton, all the team say we need to be ready, we need to get some points.

“We had Southampton first game, Manchester United after, Everton and Chelsea. Some people say we are going to take no points from these games. This is football, anything can happen, just believe in yourself."

Six points later, that belief has shown signs of success in the south Londoners' opening games so far.

On the back of this, Kouyate believes Palace deserve respect from the wider sport because, he said, “They think we are nothing - we need also some respect. We have good players; we are not Chelsea or Manchester City, but we are where we are.

“We play 11v11, it is a fact. We need to prove we can do something. If you want to win against us, you need to do something more than us. It is very, very good - it's not bad for the team. The mentality is also good - wait and see."