Ghana and Crystal Palace striker Jordan Ayew says that his side cannot have a slow start like they did in their 2-1 defeat against Leicester City on Sunday when they face Chelsea in the FA semi finals this weekend.

The Eagles lost 2-1 at the King Power Stadium with Nigerian winger Ademola Lookman scoring the opener in the 39th minute before Kieran Dewsbury-Hall made it 2-0 in the second half.

But Wilfred Zaha converted from the spot in the 65th minute after Jordan Ayew was upended in the box by Youri Tielemans to make it a nervy finish.

Palace will this weekend face Chelsea in the semi finals of the FA Cup and the Ghanaian has warned his teammates that they cannot have a slow start to that game like they did against Leicester on Sunday.

Speaking to Crystal Palace website Jordan Ayew said despite their slow start the team was better in the second half.

“I feel like we didn’t start the game well. It was all about the start. We paid the price and conceded two goals,”

“In the second-half we were the much better team. We didn’t give up, we pushed, but we didn’t manage to come back which is the most important thing. It’s a wake-up call for us to know the importance for us to have a really good start of the game and to build on that,"

“The most important thing is it happened now and not against Chelsea. Now we have one week to prepare for Chelsea and we’ll do the best we can,"

“That’s the message from the manager and it was quite simple and short: it’s a good wake-up call and we prepare ourselves for the next game the best we can.”

Jordan Ayew has also characterized the defeat as a "wake-up call" as they prepare to play Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-finals.

“It’s a wake-up call, so we need to be consistent and need to work on that. That’s what we’re trying to do; we’ve come out of a very good run and this is a wake-up call,” Ayew continued.

“The most important thing is it happened today, not next week, so we can build on this and know it’s important to have a good start to the game.”

The 30-year-old striker praised teammate Zaha for scoring the penalty for the team.

“I think I just did a stepover and he [Youri Tielemans] went and put his leg and caught me. It’s as simple as that,” added Ayew.

“The most important thing is he scored – that’s the most important thing and there’s nothing to complain about. He did the most important thing: put it in the back of the net.”