Former Chelsea and Aston Villa midfielder Andy Townsend has his doubts about Crystal Palace under Frank de Boer this season.

The Eagles suffered a humiliating 3-0 defeat to Huddersfield in their Premier League opener.

Palace were caught out by the Terriers after playing a more expansive game in a 3-4-3 formation.

Townsend told BBC Radio 5 Live: “The Palace story is really interesting for me.

“They’ve signed a coach who has got a very definite idea of how he wants things done, and it is in total contrast to the club’s DNA.

“I really hope for Frank de Boer he gets it right and the players somehow buy into it.

“I've got my doubts but do you know what, it will be a really intriguing watch at Crystal Palace this year.

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“When Palace are at their best they are going 100 miles an hour and they are getting it up to those boys up top, they make life difficult, they hurry and they chase – they can be a really awkward team to play against.”

Former Palace boss Sam Allardyce’s playing style was not easy-on-the-eye but it secured the club’s Premier League status.

And Townsend believes it is going to take time for the players to get used to De Boer’s philosophy.

He added: “When the goalkeeper has got the ball in his hands and he is rolling it out to the centre-halves and they are going across the box and to the other side, you have got Christian Benteke, Wilfried Zaha and Andros Townsend all stood up there thinking ‘hold on a year ago this was coming up here to us guys – we were the guys that dictated stuff for Crystal Palace’.

“It's a different mindset now with Frank de Boer and I think it is going to be really interesting to see how they do.”