Roy Hodgson, manager of Crystal Palace, has been understandably happy with how the team has performed in recent Premier League games.
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Crystal Palace and West Ham United played out a thriller in the Premier League, which was eventually won by Palace 4-3. The game had everything from goal-mouth action, end to end battle and plenty of goals. Even though Palace were in ascendancy for most periods, West Ham gave good account for themselves. This victory has taken the home side further away from the bottom three places and they have now more or less guaranteed their Premier League safety this season.
Roy Hodgson, manager of Crystal Palace, has been understandably happy with how the team has performed in recent Premier League games. He wants them to maintain that level going forward. “We, quite frankly, were looking at two of the last three games being in the relegation battle. We aren’t in it anymore, as they’re no longer games that we would need to produce something to stay up. Now it’s up to the players,” Hodgson told BBC Sport.
“We’re going to keep working as staff, so it will be up to them to see if they can keep producing the performances they have in their last six [games]. It was a wonderful first-half from our point of view. We played really well, did all the things we hoped we could do, and our quality players produced. Credit to West Ham to keep coming down from two goals behind. They’ve had a hectic schedule and it was incredible what they were able to do from set-pieces, keeping the game alive.”
The manager was also content with how the team has played in the attacking third of the pitch against West Ham. “Sometimes there’s one or two too many flicks, but they were good today. The goals we scored today were good goals. We kept sustaining attacks and then winning the ball back so well when they cleared it. If you’re going to become a good attacking team, you work and get the patterns of play how you want, but without the quality of the players nobody notices it. The way we’ve worked here is exactly the same as we did four years ago, but now the club is set up with a more potent set-up than before,” he added.
Jeffrey Schlupp, who scored one of the goals for Crystal Palace against West Ham United, believed they played well on the day. However, he felt that it was “weird game”. “It was crazy. It was a weird game, because we actually felt like we dominated the game to be honest, and you find yourself scrambling in the last five minutes! Personally [I thought], as a team, we played really well and dominated the game. You know they’re going to be a threat from set-pieces so we knew what we had to deal with, but I feel like we deserved the three points. It was a good performance,” he told Palace TV.
“You can tell there’s some freedom in there. The coaching staff want us to express ourselves. We’ve got a lot of flair and pace, and we’re really using that. We’re frightening teams – and we want to keep that going. Every time I play I want to use my attributes. I think that’s dragging the ball, using my pace, getting in the pockets and turning and running at the defence. I feel with the boys, like Cheick [Doucouré], at the back, we’ve got the patience to build through the back and onto the midfield and get me and Ebs [Eze] in the pockets. Once we get turned and running at the defence, I don’t think any defence in the Prem wants to see that! We’re doing that well at the moment, playing with lots of confidence, and we want to keep that going.”
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