Milivojevic hails Hodgson contract extension

BY ANDREW McSTEEN

Last Friday, Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson signed a one-year contract extension with the club, lengthening his stay in SE25 until the end of the 2020-21 season, and his captain for the majority of his time at the club since he took over the reins in September 2017 could not be more pleased.

“I’m very happy because I think he deserves that, 100%,” said midfielder Luka Milivojevic, who also signed a contract extension this season. “Especially with what we have achieved this season and with the most points in history for the club at this point [of this season].

“I like him, he’s a very good person, a very experienced manager and I’m looking forward to continuing to work with him.”

The current historic Premier League points tally comes after a run which saw the Eagles fail to win in seven league games and get knocked out of the FA Cup.

The sequence of results saw some critics and fans question the management of the Croydon-born manager, but the 72-year-old has proved them wrong with Milivojevic revealing the players just concentrate on what they can control.

“It doesn’t bother me at all because we know what we are,” said Milivojevic about the criticism his manager has faced in recent weeks. “There are a lot of people around who can judge, and judge about anything, but for us (as players) the most important thing is how we perform, how we played, and to know what is good and what is bad – we have to know what is bad and what we have to improve, that is most important.

“People are there and can say what they want, but we have great supporters and they support us every single game,” he added. “I am very happy that Roy is going to continue at the club next year.”

Photo by Keith Gillard