Roy Hodgson responds to Crystal Palace banner after 5-0 defeat at Arsenal

Roy Hodgson admitted he understood the frustrations of the Crystal Palace fans following their 5-0 defeat at Arsenal on Saturday afternoon.

The Holmesdale Fanatics held up a banner towards the end of the match and at full time which read: “Wasted potential on and off the pitch. Weak decisions taking us backwards.”

Palace have won just two of their last 16 outings in all competitions under Hodgson.

A first-half brace from defender Gabriel put Arsenal 2-0 up, with two goals from Gabriel Martinelli and a strike from Leandro Trossard sealing their 5-0 win.

The 76-year-old saw his Eberechi Eze substitution booed during Wednesday night’s FA Cup third round defeat at Everton.

Asked about the banner, Hodgson said: “It’s a different type of message [to the Everton defeat] – it’s quite a detailed one.

“It’s aimed at probably everybody in the club, it seemed. All I can say is that they’re totally entitled to their opinion in that respect. 

“I do understand their frustration, anger and disappointment that things haven’t gone better.

“We can make our excuses, which we have been doing because certain things haven’t worked against us in this period of time.”

“The bottom line is that if we’re going to go forward and avoid relegation, we need those fans with us. Hopefully, we can do our best to keep them onboard.

“We can only do that by winning football matches and playing better than we did today.”

PICTURES: KEITH GILLARD