Former Crystal Palace striker Clinton Morrison expecting Roy Hodgson to be replaced

BY ANDREW McSTEEN

Former Crystal Palace striker Clinton Morrison expects Eagles boss Roy Hodgson to leave the club this summer.

Speaking on Sky Sports where he was a pundit for the Eagles’ 3-1 loss at Southampton on Tuesday, Morrison responded to Hodgson’s post-match comments after being asked about his contract ending this summer.

Hodgson said: “I shall let people know what I shall be doing at the end of the season when the time is right, but I’m not going to answer the question until such time I want to.”

This prompted Morrison, who made 316 appearances and scored 113 times for the South London club, to speculate that the Croydon-born 73-year-old has just a few weeks left in the role.

“I think the manager will change, Roy is being a bit coy there [with his post-match comments], he knows that his time’s coming to an end at Crystal Palace. He’s done a fantastic job,” said Morrison, who represented the Republic of Ireland at international level.

“If managers are talking at the end [of their contract and want a new one] usually they’ll be saying: ‘I’m going to try and stay, I want another year at this football club’, putting pressure on the chairman, [but] he’s not doing that at this precise moment.

“I think there’ll be changes with players and I know for a fact that they’re going to try and go down the younger route with younger players.”