Hodgson on his players, his goals and the 'relegation dogfight'

First-team

19 Apr 2023

In a wide-ranging embargoed section of his pre-match press conference, Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson gave his thoughts on a number of topics ahead of Tuesday's trip to Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The Eagles go into Tuesday night's game at Molineux (kick-off 19:30 BST) off the back of four games unbeaten under their returning manager - and in the knowledge that victory would take them to the 40-point mark in the Premier League.

Read on for Hodgson's thoughts ahead of the game...

On the absence of the recovering Wilfried Zaha:

“I think there are more options in the squad as a whole, there is no question about that - not just in [Zaha’s] position, but throughout the team.

"This squad has improved enormously in the last couple of years. Some very good quality players have been brought in and one or two others have really blossomed in that period.

“One is always going to be dependent on one’s best players, one’s match-winning players, but to become a really good team we need more than one match-winning player. We need more than that.

“I think at the minute we could argue we do have that luxury, but it’s up to the players to keep that going.

"The thing about Wilf is he performs so consistently. In so many games, he did find a way to get us the winning goal or the equaliser we didn’t think we would have.

"The players who are going to vie with him for that position are going to have to give us that consistency as well, so we are going to be saying the same thing about them when they don’t play as when Wilf doesn’t play.

“The honest answer is that when Wilf is fit, he will play.”

On goalkeepers Sam Johnstone & Vicente Guaita:

“[Sam Johnstone] has suffered from injuries. I’m not 100 percent certain of his injury background before I came here, but when I arrived he was injured, so I'm not sure how much of that is due to the fact he has not been available for selection.

“He had to obviously show a lot of mental strength to see Vicente playing so well and consistently, and doing so well. I think that both of the goalkeepers have a very good attitude. They are mentally strong people, they have a good attitude towards the game and, as a result, Vicente is still going strong and still looking like a very good goalkeeper.

“Sam, who is a lot younger, has to make certain he keeps consistency in his performances all the time he is given a chance, because unfortunately it is a position like striker, where there isn’t a lot of forgiveness.

"You are either being lauded to the skies because you’re making saves which have kept your team in the game, or you’re being vilified because you have let a couple of goals in which everyone thinks you should have saved.

“Both of them are at a good age. It is not a desperate position for a goalkeeper as long as he keeps his fitness and his eyesight is still good, which can be a problem. It is one we don’t take into account: people’s eyesight can get worse as they get older and goalkeepers need A1 eyesight because they need to pick up the ball from short distance reaction saves and long distance shots in time.

“I think that, for the club, having two goalkeepers like that – both experienced, both good at their jobs, both calm, both with a good mentality – that’s a very healthy position to be in. For me, it gives me that selection question every week: which one of the two do I want to use?

"I must say, I wasn’t concerned when I knew Sam had to play, and I wouldn’t be concerned either if Sam can’t play in a game and Vicente comes back in. We can win football matches with either of those two guys in the goal.”

On emerging from the ‘relegation dogfight’ and rising up the table:

“I think the size of the dog we’re fighting may have got slightly smaller [with recent results], but it’s still a fight, there is no doubt about that. Let’s put it this way: the dog is nowhere near as small as we’d like it to be!

“I'm not going to go as far as talking about being mathematically safe. I'm not going to go down that route. But I still think any team on 37 points that sits back and thinks 'that is our job done’ is making a huge mistake.

"I think it would be an incredible lack of ambition and professionalism and desire to have six games in front of you and to decide that 37 points will see us through.

“But like I said after the game at the weekend, I did come here in the hope that I would leave the club in the Premier League. If it so happened that we are there on 37 points and goal difference so be it, but that is something I don’t contemplate at the minute because we have six games to play - and I think we are capable of taking more points and fighting even smaller dogs!

“I’ve got to keep my Irish wolfhounds, don’t forget that!”

On Joachim Andersen & Marc Guéhi:

“They are both excellent. I am not trying to laud one over the other - they are both excellent. They complement each other very well, and they are different types of player.

“Joachim Andersen has all the types of qualities you want in a centre-half. He was very, very important at the weekend. It is not an easy battle for a centre-half with [Everton's] Dominic Calvert-Lewin, he really is exceptional in the air – he has an exceptional leap and gets up so high. The service to him was good - they were not bad balls being played up to him. I thought he [Andersen] dealt with that particularly well. He reads game very well, and of course we benefit enormously from his ability on the ball.

“When you are trying to build up from the back, you need options: a shorter pass in the midfield, sometimes a longer pass to turn the opposition around, or the diagonal pass which maybe unbalances the opponents who are really trying to squeeze you on one side of the field.

“Andersen is as good as anybody in the league at doing that and we are very lucky to have him. I think those two players [Andersen & Guéhi] have made a big difference to the squad in the last couple of seasons.

“The two centre-backs for Everton both did extremely well and they are not particularly different in their styles of play. [James] Tarkowski and [Michael] Keane are relatively similar players. We had success with relatively similar players with James Tomkins and Gary Cahill.

“I don’t have a strong feeling about it. We are a long way from McFarlane-Todd combo of a few years ago when one is the playmaker, and libero type, and one is the ball winning centre-half. In the Premier League today we are all looking for players who have all the qualities, both defensively and good enough on the ball so that, when we get it, they can help us build up some attacks.

“I've got that with Marc and Joachim. Up to now, touch wood, they have been very, very good. It is up to them now to make sure they maintain that form and they bring us through these last few games to make sure, when the final game comes around, we are not only talking about not getting relegation, we are talking about having had a very good last 10 games of the season.

“All people have different qualities, but I think these two are very good all round centre-halves who give you the defensive side and give you the quality on the ball.”

On remaining motivated until the end of the season:

“We’ll find ways of keeping the players concentrated and motivated but the best way to do that is to make sure the competition for places remains high.

"The way people perform in training, the way they keep showing: ‘You could play me as well if you wanted - I won’t let you down, I might make your team even stronger than it is at the minute’.

“That’s the best motivation and inspiration we have. We won’t do it by looking at a team, targeting a team above us in the table. I will keep my feet on the ground in that respect and you won’t hear me talking about catching Chelsea up."

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