For the manager's pre-match team news, including updates on Ebere Eze and Jeffrey Schlupp, please click here.
Hodgson on Bournemouth, Edouard & Selhurst Park...
Roy Hodgson discussed the importance of taking the positive aspect's of Sunday's draw against West Ham into tomorrow night's match against Bournemouth at Selhurst Park (19:30 GMT kick-off) - check out our round-up of the manager’s pre-match press conference comments below…
On a run of difficult fixtures in December…
“Yes [we’ve got Bournemouth and Liverpool this week] and then we've got Brighton and Chelsea, so we've got four very difficult games...
“We know that Bournemouth are a good team. They're in exceptionally good form, I think they’ve won three of their last five [league] matches, so they're playing well.
“They just had a very good draw and almost a victory against Aston Villa, so we are playing against another top team – it's not just Liverpool and Manchester City that bother us, it's Bournemouth that bother us as well.
“I expect them to be good. They've got a very good series of results behind them. They'll be coming to Selhurst Park tomorrow night with a lot of confidence. But to be frank, whether they're coming here with confidence or lacking confidence, it’s still a game which we are going to have to perform well in if we want to win it.
“Victory or not, for us, will depend upon what we do on the night, and we've got to try and make certain we do enough on the night to get what we would like.”
On managers adapting to the Premier League…
“I think most of the managers who come here from abroad these days seem to adapt very quickly. I think it's to do with two things: it's to do with the fact that it's a very strong league and the team that they take over invariably has some very good players for them to work with, so that's one factor.
“And two, I don't think England is a particularly difficult country to adapt to. Most of them speak good English when they come over here so they don't have the problem of having to battle a language. They don't really often have difficulties in battling a culture because most of them are coming from other European clubs, and their wives and family also can adjust quite quickly because normally those people are well-educated and speak good English.
“So I would say that for the managers coming into England, 9 times out of 10, I don't think it proves a major problem for them, but you'd have to ask them. But for English coaches going abroad, that could become more difficult, especially if the culture that you find yourself going to is a vastly different culture to the culture you've been used to at home.”
On a good performance at West Ham United…
“All victories and draws and good performances mean a lot to fans, just as all defeats and bad performances hurt fans – that's part and parcel of being in the world of professional football.
“But for us it was important, after two results which we were unhappy with, and even performances to some extent that we were far from being delighted about, it was important to get back and go to West Ham and give the performance that we gave: very solid, very compact.
“I believe that we deserved our result from that game and it's good to take that with us into tomorrow night's game, which is going to be another very stern test for us.”
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On Odsonne Edouard…
“He’s scored some goals this year, which was important. He was quite consistent actually in the final 10 games of last season when I came back to the club, so I don't think there's been a vast difference in his performances or his playing style or even his consistency.
“But the thing is for forwards, if they score goals, they are obviously getting more confidence, they feel better about themselves and most importantly of all, they escape the sort of criticism that's going to come their way if they're playing on a regular basis and not scoring goal.
“I'm pleased for him, I'm pleased for the team, but still it's I think seven goals in 14 games, but at least one of those was in the Carabao Cup… so it's maybe six goals in 13 [Premier League] games, which is fine.
“But we think he's got the ability to give us a lot more than that, and I'm certain as well that he will get more than that when we eventually get all of our creative players back on the field together.
“At the moment Doug Freedman told me today that Eze and Olise so far have played 65 minutes together this season. We are already 14 games in and if I then add Doucouré, who’s out, and I take away Lerma, who missed about four to five weeks into the bargain, that's a lot of players to be missing from our team and our squad.
“As a forward, you need that creative influence around you to make certain the ball is set up for you. I think we're doing better in that respect. I think we'll give him more chances and I believe that when we give him the chances he will score them.”
![](https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/06048537-ba3b-45d2-8359-955b9e4e18a7.jpg?crop=1920%3A1080%3Anowe%3A0%3A0&width=320&height=320&format=webp 320w, https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/06048537-ba3b-45d2-8359-955b9e4e18a7.jpg?crop=1920%3A1080%3Anowe%3A0%3A0&width=360&height=360&format=webp 360w, https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/06048537-ba3b-45d2-8359-955b9e4e18a7.jpg?crop=1920%3A1080%3Anowe%3A0%3A0&width=640&height=640&format=webp 640w, https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/06048537-ba3b-45d2-8359-955b9e4e18a7.jpg?crop=1920%3A1080%3Anowe%3A0%3A0&width=720&height=720&format=webp 720w, https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/06048537-ba3b-45d2-8359-955b9e4e18a7.jpg?crop=1920%3A1080%3Anowe%3A0%3A0&width=960&height=960&format=webp 960w, https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/06048537-ba3b-45d2-8359-955b9e4e18a7.jpg?crop=1920%3A1080%3Anowe%3A0%3A0&width=1280&height=1280&format=webp 1280w, https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/06048537-ba3b-45d2-8359-955b9e4e18a7.jpg?crop=1920%3A1080%3Anowe%3A0%3A0&width=1440&height=1440&format=webp 1440w, https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/06048537-ba3b-45d2-8359-955b9e4e18a7.jpg?crop=1920%3A1080%3Anowe%3A0%3A0&width=1920&height=1920&format=webp 1920w)
On today's managerial change at Sheffield United…
“I have no idea. My attitude towards all sackings is the same… every manager sacking has my empathy, my sympathy. If you're asking a personal opinion of [Paul] Heckingbottom, I like him. I think he's a very good manager and coach.
“I think he's done an exceptional job for Sheffield United, but Sheffield United's business, when it comes to a manager, is their business and if they have decided it's time for them to change and to bring back Chris Wilder, then that's up to them and I have no idea whether that will make them stronger or weaker.
“[Paul Heckingbottom] has a very well-deserved reputation. He's done a remarkable job for that club. He stepped in on several occasions and of course he got them back into the Premier League where they wanted to be and that in itself is a very big achievement because to get out of the Championship and get back into the Premier League is an achievement which people shouldn't take lightly.”
On Selhurst Park…
“Every club would love to be sure that, every time you play at home, you win.
“If the question is would you like it to become a fortress, would you like to be sure that every time you play at home you've got a very good chance and are more than likely to win the game, then of course the answer is ‘yes’ – but we'll have to produce the performances to get that."