Crystal Palace manager Hodgson talks about miracles being possible

Staying up

Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson has praised his side for their work since he took over at the club, with Palace going from a club who looked almost certain to go down to a club who are now going to be in the Premier League next season – and who have managed to navigate a host of injuries and a huge amount of uncertainties during the season to now come strong.

Despite their great turn around, the manager was full of praise for the players and not himself, and was typically humble when talking to the press.

Hodgson said: “I don’t feel a need to praise myself.

“I have received accolades but the bottom line is that Palace supporters don’t come to Selhurst to see me, they come to see the players.

‘What we have achieved comes from what we have laid down at the training ground. We had been vilified after seven games at the start of the season when we didn’t have a win, a point, or a goal and were favourites to go down.

“Then we had to take the blows of having 12 first-team men injured, losing match-winning players through injury, getting over the disappointment of conceding last-minute goals and having no recognised strikers.

“But we never fell into the trap of feeling sorry for ourselves or thinking we would never get out of relegation trouble.

“Miracles do happen.

“We have done it with hard work, sweat and tears and I’m very proud of the work we have put down. The bottom line is that you prepare for things and situations, try to make the right decisions and get the players to perform.”

Wilfried Zaha during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Leicester City at Selhurst Park on April 28, 2018 in London, England.

Top players

Palace now have a far better chance of keeping their top players this summer, given they’re staying in the Premier League and have a manager who has clearly been getting the best out of them.

Quite how far they can actually go next season with the likes of Wilfred Zaha remains to be seen but if Hodgson signs a new deal to stay at the club he will want to push them on as far as he can.

See also: Arsene Wenger speaks about how successor will benefit from his tenure

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