“Determination and discipline” – Hodgson highlights keys to Palace’s draw against Manchester United

BY ANDREW MCSTEEN

Boss Roy Hodgson praised the work ethic of his Crystal Palace side last night as they made club history with a 0-0 draw at Selhurst Park against Manchester United.

The result meant that the Eagles went unbeaten against the Red Devils for the first time in a Premier League campaign, following a 3-1 away win at Old Trafford back in September.

“It was a difficult game we were confronted with, but I thought our players went about their job tonight very, very commendably,” he said. “I can’t commend them enough; I can’t praise them enough. I thought they worked very, very hard, but thanks to the shape of the team, thanks to the discipline, thanks to the determination, really – because we got players around the ball, we didn’t give them many clear sights of our goal – 0-0 for me was a very, very good result.

“It’s never easy to beat Manchester United,” added the Palace boss about their opponents who have now gone 21 away matches without defeat. “They’ve got a host of very good quality players, they’re very athletic and physical, it’s always going to be a challenge when you meet them whether you’re Man City or Crystal Palace. But it’s not easy to create chances against United anyway as their 21 games without defeat away from home proves. At least we stopped them from winning tonight. I think every time Crystal Palace play Man United, at least in the last four seasons that I’ve been here, it’s a reason to celebrate when you get a result – and for me a draw against them is always a result.

“And I thought when we got the ball there were occasions where we passed it well enough to get behind them and even ask questions of their defence.”

The result means that the Eagles have picked up two clean sheets in a row, following their 0-0 draw against Fulham on Sunday, and have lost just two of their last seven matches, including wins against Wolves, Newcastle and Brighton. In the middle were two defeats in insipid performances away at Leeds United and against Burnley at home.

The manner of those two losses prompted fan group Holmesdale Fanatics to put up a banner at the club’s Beckenham training ground asking the squad to think about their mentality, ambition and accusing them of suffering a ‘pandemic of apathy’.

“Yes, it is, but I mean that’s what supporters do,” said Hodgson when asked if recent performances were the perfect response to the direct fan action.

“They praise you one minute, criticise you the next. I don’t allow those things to concern me too much, it’s more something for you guys when you’ve got some ammunition and a piece to write about.

“But as far as we’re concerned, we didn’t pay it any attention whatsoever because we know that in the case of apathy, nothing could be further from the truth. We are not an apathetic group of players by any stretch of the imagination. Anyone who cares to watch us play and analyse our play would know that.

“We didn’t think about it in terms of the squad, because on the back of two very good games and six points, people were suggesting we were a very good team,” added the Croydon-born manager. “Then when you play two poor games and you don’t play as well as you’d have liked to play, none of us believe we’re not a good team. We were a great team after those six points but now after no points in two games we’re hopeless.

“We shrugged that off and concentrated on the next three games – or the next two games. We knew that Brighton was going to be a vital game in terms of the performance and the result, and the same with Fulham.

“We did that, and fortunately we’ve gone one step further by getting a point against Man United, who normally we would not be expected to beat.”