Every word Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson said after Crystal Palace’s rollercoaster win over West Ham
BY ANDREW MCSTEEN
After Crystal Palace’s 4-3 win over West Ham at Selhurst Park on Saturday, manager Roy Hodgson spoke to the press about moving up to 11th in the Premier League, on 40 points.
Here is what he said in full.
Safe now, what a way to do it, an exciting game?
“Safe again. Before you’re start asking the question, yes, I think we are safe. It was credit to West Ham I thought for two things [today]. One, once again midweek Thursday then playing here again on a Saturday with a few Thursdays and Sundays ahead of them, but they showed incredible energy, really, considering the fatigue which we imagined they would feel.
“But most importantly, two, great credit for them on their set-play delivery and the way they attacked their set plays which really made the game a lot more exciting than I would have liked it to be, especially after the passages of play that we had where I thought we were going to actually get ourselves more than two goals ahead and make life a bit easier for ourselves than we eventually did. So that’s great credit for them, great credit to David [Moyes] and his staff.
“I couldn’t be more delighted with the way the players came over those little slaps in the face that we got after taking a two-goal lead and suddenly only finding it to be a one-goal lead. Then in the last 10 or 12 minutes with only one goal between us – probably by that time it should have been more – making life so uncomfortable with one more corner kick, two more long throws and a few long balls smashed forward.”
Surprised how well things gone since returning as manager?
“Yes, I am. I suppose I’m surprised because I didn’t know the players. Probably, had I known the quality there was here to work with, then, perhaps, I wouldn’t have been quite so surprised. I had to find that out.
“But we are where we are purely because we do have good players, purely because the club’s recruitment has been so good in rejuvenating a little bit the team that I had worked with, of which I must add I’m very proud of those players, I’m extremely proud of them still and always will be, it was rejuvenated with some other guys were brought in who’ve done an exceptional job and really now the club can look forward to a platform where they could hope to push forward.
“But if I could also say there, that pushing forward might still be finishing between 12th and eighth in the table because you have to be very careful about that. All the time a club like ours can be in that sort of position, where we basically been for the last five or six years, we shouldn’t be too disappointed.”
You have reached your goal of 40 points you stated over the past few weeks, what now?
“It’s up to the players. In fact, I don’t often share what I say to players in the dressing room, but I can share this – I said to them now it’s up to you. Nothing’s going to change as far as Ray (Lewington), Paddy McCarthy and I are concerned.
“We will work in exactly the same way. It will be the same type of training sessions. We’ll be making the same sort of demands and we’ll be doing the same preparation for matches. But only you can get that fire, that desire, that determination to make the extra run to win the challenge. Only you can do that.
“We’re going to continue, we think, to give you the basics that you need to do it so, therefore, it’s up to you. You could take this as far as you want. I’m not saying we’re going to race through and win four more games – I don’t think we’re incapable of winning all of them – but at the same time the sword has been removed from my head, it’s been removed from the players heads.
“We will keep the sword where it is, as far as we’re concerned, because we like to win games and we like to come away from every performance, even if it’s a defeat at Wolves, thinking ‘well done boys, you did well, you played the right football, we’re not dissatisfied in any way, good work, it didn’t work out this time, on to the next one’. That’s our attitude.
“I can’t guarantee what the players attitude will be, but I would think they will share that belief.”
Eberechi Eze said after the game the players were thriving under you. How do you feel about that?
“It’s a wonderful compliment. I think I’m at the stage of my life – and I’ve just been speaking to a very interesting man, Jason (Sudeikis) who plays the part of Ted Lasso I was privileged to meet him there (on the pitch at Selhurst Park after the game) – and we agreed that English people aren’t good at receiving compliments. We tend to shrug them off. I think I should receive and accept the compliment for what it is. I really appreciate it.
“But my point is this – that football matches are won by players. All we can do is provide the environment. We can hopefully work hard in our preparation so that when they go into the game, they feel as prepared as they possibly can be, both individually and as a team, because as a team we work together.
“The left-back works well with the left-sided midfielder, his left-sided centre-back and also, he’s very much attached to when the ball is transferred, what his role is there. We can work on that. We always have.”
Complete performance from Jordan Ayew today?
“I can’t praise Jordan enough. His game has improved enormously. He was always strong. He was always good at holding off challenges. He was very difficult to take the ball from and he was a good dribbler. But he’s added to his game. He’s added the awareness of what’s around him and when maybe it’s not the right time to attempt the dribble or the turn and to do something else, which is a great compliment to him. Also, of course, he’s scored some goals. He’s got two goals already in the six games I’ve been here.
“If he continued like that, it would give him something like 12 or 13 goals a year and we unfortunately didn’t have that sort of return from him in the 150-odd games I had (previously).”
Where is the confidence now of the team after you said it was low when you joined?
“You know what brings confidence to football players? Winning football matches. So I wonder what effect a defeat against Leicester in the first game, or even a draw, would have had on our confidence.
“Because we’d have come off the field and we’d have said, even if we had drawn, ‘how is it possible to draw that game’? We were playing so good, we played so well. We had so many, maybe 31, shots on goal. How is it possible?’ Winning that [match] helped.
“It prevented me to some extent having to revert to another message. That message is, and it’s a good message that you don’t get what you deserve. You have to come to terms with those things. If you want to become a good football team and win points, you have to accept all those unfortunate circumstances.
“The penalty not given. The offside not given. The goal ruled out. The fact that you’ve been good and they’ve scored with their only attack of the game. I’m afraid that’s what football does sometimes.
“It’s no good taking some sort of solace in the fact that you guys might have written some quite nice things or we look at the look at the stats and we had more than them. No point in that. Somehow, you’ve got to develop an incredible resilience to be a top-class football player.
“What I see in this group here, I see the makings of a very good team, because I also see a large streak of resilience and determination amongst them and maybe that has just helped a little bit with their confidence. It’s been boosted by the fact that things have gone our way.”
David Moyes said do not underestimate Palace or their form – do you feel the team in underestimated?
“No, I don’t feel that. But if I’d have been David Moyes, I would have probably been saying the same thing to you, because we do see those things.
“We prepare the game and I’m pretty certain he prepared the game. He highlighted certain aspects of our plays and aspects of our danger. But when you actually see it working, it can, not take your breath away, but can knock you back a little bit, so I’m pleased that David said that.
“But then David Moyes is a top, top manager. Not only a top manager, a top person and that’s why having just had his 60th birthday and God knows how many games and God knows how many Managers of the Year awards, he hasn’t got that by chance. He’s got it because he’s good and that should never be forgotten”.
You talk about laying the foundation, but what about you pushing forward beyond this season?
“I’m not prepared to talk about that at all. What happens after the season will happen. At the moment I shall enjoy this last month and I will make no comments whatsoever.
“It’s kind of you to ask the question, but I prefer to say nothing otherwise I will come once again to James Tomkins’ amusing comment which I’ve already told you: ‘What, you’re looking for another gold watch?’ Which I’m not, I’ve got a few.”
Did the knock to Wilfried Zaha influence his decision to not take the penalty and pass it to Eberechi Eze?
“I think it probably did. I must speak to them [but] I think it probably did, maybe. Eze’s good, we’ve got some good penalty-takers, (Michael) Olise’s a good penalty-taker and the penalty-taker at Wolves (on Tuesday), had we got one, would have been Luka Milivojevic, so we’re not we’re not short of them.
“But I still need to speak to them on Monday and find out what went on between them. I was pleased to see it. “He got a nasty bang, Wilf, and great credit to him for carrying on really. I spoke to him. I said [it may be] a good idea maybe to come off but Wilf said; ‘no, no, no; leave me on’.
“We then agreed we’ll give it another 10 minutes or so and [see] if you can get through those, because if I left the decision to the medical and sports science department, he would have been off [earlier]. It was a knee-to-knee injury. Those bangs you get on the knee can be very painful.”