by As a manager with so much experience, Roy Hodgson has developed a bad habit of putting his foot down this season. The 76-year-old again felt the need to apologize to Crystal Palace supporters ahead of Saturday’s meeting with his former club Liverpool, after claiming he had been “spoiled here for a while” after his was dismissed when Bournemouth lost 2-0 awkwardly. on Wednesday.
“I’m a little worried about my comments, which I deeply regret,” Hodgson said on Friday. “To say we’ve spoiled the fans in recent years … I don’t think so. I think the fans were very patient, really. They have been great and are behind us, even during this bad spell.
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“It was frustrating because that’s how I felt,” he said. “I felt so excited after the game. Basically, I felt like booting myself at one point – that’s the way things are.”
That integrity should come as no surprise to the man who was hailed as the club’s savior when he returned from glory days to take over from Patrick Vieira in March. Police are investigating after an object – understood to be a hand warmer – was thrown towards the Palace manager as he made his way towards the tunnel after the meek concession to Bournemouth, although Hodgson admitted that he had a sleepless night for various reasons.
While the former England manager said one win from their last eight league games was not good enough for his “vulnerable” side, he insisted he was not worried about the very real threat of losing his job despite his comments not being well received by the chairman. , Stephen Parish. “We are not panicking, the coaching staff, the players,” said Hodgson. “Those are questions you have to ask higher ups who would want to panic. I don’t understand the feeling and I’m lucky that the chairman is very experienced and I’ve seen it before. If there’s panic, it’s not filtering down to me.”
Hodgson’s position was under scrutiny before the win at Bournemouth left Palace with one point from four games. Former Wolves manager Julen Lopetegui attended Palace’s game against Tottenham in October and could be an experienced option to replace Hodgson, although Steve Cooper would also be a strong contender should Nottingham turn up Forest the door, having been enchanted by the Parish for some time past. Paddy McCarthy – who was promoted to assistant manager when Hodgson signed a one-year deal in July – has been earmarked as a long-term replacement and was interviewed by Oxford United last month. Former Brighton and Chelsea manager Graham Potter is another potential candidate.
Hodgson will know he is on thin ice after a week when he was forced to withdraw after speaking about an apparent disagreement between the medical team and Eberechi Eze over the England midfielder’s potential return from injury. He also had to apologize earlier in the season when he openly criticized substitutes Matheus França, Jesurun Rak-Sakyi and Naouirou Ahamada after the home win against Spurs. “They didn’t do anything for us at all, really,” he said. “We got a lot weaker when I did the reps.” Hodgson’s reluctance to face França – the young Brazilian winger who was signed in the summer in a deal worth up to £26m – was particularly striking in the build-up to the game against Bournemouth.
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Parish revealed in October that he hoped work on Palace’s new 13,500 main stand could start “this time next year”, although costs are believed to have risen to £150m from £100m predicted when plans were announced in 2017. Hodgson would prefer to turn things around and could hire a new manager for next season but there is believed to be a growing feeling among Palace’s main shareholders that he may change would soon be necessary if results do not improve.
Concerns over Michael Olise’s workload following his return from a long-term hamstring injury will see the medical team make a late call on his participation against Liverpool, with Palace without Tyrick Mitchell – the only known left-back – expected to that Nathaniel Clyne enters. against his former club. The absence of Cheick Doucouré, who was under the spell of Liverpool in the summer, for the rest of the season is a big blow and Hodgson will say that Olise and Eze are on the pitch together for 49 minutes this season as a blockbuster. factor in their struggle.
But even as the pressure mounts, the Premier League’s longest-serving manager insisted he has the same passion for his job as ever and has no regrets about returning to Selhurst Park.
“I love life and I want to keep it going as long as I can. I don’t want to shorten too many things. So I think that’s always a factor that’s brought home to me more and more as contemporaries and friends of mine or people I know around the same age, that their lives will end. It reminds me more that your life is not over.
“Even better than that, you’re still doing something you really enjoy doing, so it’s as great a time as it gets for me. But don’t forget that those bad impressions can take hold like they did on Wednesday evening and you have to find a way to deal with them because there are other things in life and you have to keep that attitude.”
