Crystal Palace to hold talks with caretaker manager Roy Hodgson over his long-term plans

Vimbai M

17/05/2023

Crystal Palace will hold talks with Roy Hodgson over his long-term future after the 75-year-old’s impressive return to the club as caretaker manager.

Crystal Palace want to speak with Hodgson at the end of the season in order to find out what both his short and long-term plans are. He is both the oldest manager in the division, and the oldest in Premier League history.

The club want to assess all options before deciding on their next step, while Hodgson’s only focus is finishing the season well in the final two games, away to Fulham and then Nottingham Forest at home.

Hodgson has overseen a run of five wins from eight games since returning to Selhurst Park in March, steering the Eagles away from relegation and up to 12th in the Premier League table.

The club had previously been on a run of 12 league matches without a win, and had dropped three points off the relegation zone before his appointment.

When asked about his future after Palace’s 4-3 win over West Ham on April 29, he was tight-lipped about his next move, telling reporters: “I’m not prepared to talk about that at all. What happens after the season will happen. At the moment, I shall enjoy this last month and I’ll make no comments whatsoever.

“It’s kind of you to ask the question but I prefer to say nothing. Otherwise I’ll come to James Tomkins’ amusing comment of: ‘What are you looking for? Another gold watch?’ – which I’m not!”

At that time, he also addressed his surprise with the quality of squad he had inherited, less than two years after stepping back from the job in south London at the end of his contract in 2021.

“I suppose I’m surprised because I didn’t know the players,” he added. “If I had known the quality there was here to work with then perhaps I wouldn’t have been quite so surprised, but I had to find that out.

“We are where we are purely because we do have good players, purely because the club’s recruitment has been so good in rejuvenating a bit the team that I worked with, of which I must add I’m very proud. But it was rejuvenated, some other guys brought in who’ve done an exceptional job.

“Really now, the club can look forward towards a platform from where they can hope to push forward. But if I can also say there that pushing forward might still be finishing between 12th and eighth in the table because you have to be very careful about that. All the time that a club like ours can be in that kind of position, we shouldn’t be too disappointed.”

Source: Sky spots