Roy Hodgson hints that decision is set to be made over his Crystal Palace future
BY SAM SMITH
Roy Hodgson has said that he is happy to wait before making an announcement on his Crystal Palace future – in the biggest hint yet that a decision is close to being made.
The 73-year-old’s contract expires this summer and it is unclear whether he will be in charge of the Eagles next season. Hodgson is usually coy about his situation but today seemed to suggest that there could be movement soon.
Asked if there was any news on his contractual situation, Hodgson said: “No. I’m in the same situation as the others (who are out of contract).
“Basically, I think we’ve all got our own ideas about what our plans are, but we’re more than happy to wait a little bit longer before we announce those.”
The South Londoners have an unprecedented 12 first-team players who are out of contract beyond the summer. Andros Townsend, who is among that group, revealed to TalkSport last week that decisions would be made on the players’ deals at the end of the season.
Hodgson does not believe that any of the 12 have anything to prove in the final eight matches of the Premier League campaign.
“I think that football clubs should make decisions on players over a body of work and a period of time,” Hodgson continued.
“I think it’s a big mistake to leave the decision over whether a player has had a good game or bad game in the last two or three games of a season. I remember many, many years ago being advised against that. To make your decisions about players halfway or two thirds of the way into a season. Not to leave it until the last minute.
“We know our players, we know what they can do. Unfortunately for the club, there are a number of them that find themselves, or we find ourselves, having to deal with players coming to the end of contracts, so a lot of negotiations have got to be done between the club and the players’ agents.
“That’s going on at this moment in time. Luckily, it certainly hasn’t had any effect on us in the last few games.”