Roy Hodgson understands why the Crystal Palace fans have turned on him and the team but says he has not had any discussions with chairman Steve Parish regarding his future.
Palace have won just three of their last 16 Premier League games – and exited the FA Cup against Everton – to slip within five points of the bottom three. In their last two away games, they lost 5-0 at Arsenal and produced an abject display in going down 4-1 to bitter rivals Brighton on Saturday.
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Speaking ahead of Monday’s home game with Chelsea, the former England boss said he shares the fans’ frustrations but urged them to get behind the team.
He said: “We are in the job to coach the team and win matches and most importantly to give the fans something to be proud of.
“When the fans have turned against us as they have, that’s the worst possible scenario and you can understand it because we haven’t really got ourselves going since the Brentford game. But it’s a fact of life and we can’t change it, no words of mine can change it.
“We just have to do the best we can for them [the fans]. We just have to take it on the chin. Most importantly, we can’t do it without their support when we have so many of our celebrated players unavailable.
“The players who are coming in in their place need support more than ever. We can only hope the fans understand and give us their backing.”
Despite their poor run, Hodgson has received no indication Parish is looking to make a change, adding: “No, the chairman and I talk all the time but there has been no specific talk about my future.
“Speculation is always going to be there when people are having a bad run with their club. Why should I be any different to that? It’s not in my control and doesn’t impact my daily work.
“It doesn’t stop me selecting the team or the tactics to get them in the best possible shape. One has no option but to let those things [rumours] pass them by.”
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— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) February 8, 2024
The relationship between Hodgson and the fans deteriorated further against Brighton with midfielder Michael Olise, one of the club’s star players alongside Eberechi Eze, coming on at half-time only to limp off with a reoccurrence of a hamstring injury 10 minutes later.
Hodgson said: “That’s them [the fans] suggesting he was carrying an injury. I don’t think he was carrying an injury, I think it was more fatigue.
“It’s not easy when you’ve got a player like Olise on the bench to turn around and say ‘just sit there’.
“Michael is a quiet guy and that’s another part of this situation. Another player might have come up and said ‘look, I don’t think it’s worth it. I need a bit more time.’ But that’s not fair on him, he’s just going along with what the club thinks.
“Injuries happen at any time. He could have come on for five minutes and done it or he could have not come on at all and done it in training.
“For me it’s another element of bad luck. To lose those two [Eze and Olise] and Marc Guehi in the same time. Add that to [Cheick] Doucoure, four of the players that were so important to the club last season.
“You just have to get on with it and prepare the rest of the players and hope they show up.”
