Crystal Palace striker Shefki Kuqi believes Eagles fans will now start to see what he is really capable of following a disruptive start to his Selhurst Park career.

The 30-year-old's season has been hampered by injuries and a lack of match fitness, limiting the Finnish international to 21 appearances, in which he has notched six goals.

He arrived at the Eagles with a big scoring reputation at Championship level following his £2.5million move from Blackburn Rovers in August, but Kuqi admitted he has yet to show his true ability in a Palace shirt.

"I think the fans have seen one or two games - like the QPR game which was my best game for Palace - when I played the type of game I used to play week in, week out, at Ipswich and Blackburn," he said.

"They have not even seen me play to 50 per cent of what I am capable of. When I came in we lost a few games and confidence was not the best.

"It's not easy coming into a new club. At times you try a little too hard and things don't go your way, "I have not scored as many goals as I would have liked to, but when the goals did start to come I got the injury."

Kuqi returned to the Palace team during the defeat at Plymouth Argyle last Saturday, following five weeks on the sidelines with a knee injury.

His 71st-minute appearance failed to bring an equaliser to aid Palace's play-off bid, but at least his comeback put weeks of frustration behind him.

"It was longest injury I have had in my career," said Kuqi.

"I had a damaged muscle in my leg at Ipswich, but nothing as bad as this.

"A couple of weeks after I got the injury I went training and it was going well, but as soon as I started kicking the ball it felt worse than it did originally.

"It has gone now and it's was great to be back but it was not the result we wanted."

Kuqi's fitness has been a question mark for Palace fans since his move. There were reports the striker had not had much of a pre-season at Blackburn - which he rubbishes.

"That was a misunderstanding from the first day I came here," he insisted.

"I never missed a day of pre-season with Blackburn. I did not have 90-minute games and I said I needed two or three 90-minute games. People were saying I wasn't fit, but I was, I just needed some games."

Kuqi is now aiming for a run in the Palace side after he returns from international duty in Azerbaijan, where Finland play a European Championship qualifier on Saturday.

Although defeat at Plymouth made the Eagles' chances of reaching the play-offs more remote, Kuqi is not giving up.

"It's not in our own hands," he added. "All we can do it is keep doing our best and end the season as well as we can."