Hodgson on Brighton, rivalries & Dean Henderson
Roy Hodgson has spoken to the media ahead of Crystal Palace's fixture against Brighton & Hove Albion on Thursday (21st December, 20:00 GMT) – and you can find a full round-up of his key quotes below.
On the boost of Saturday’s draw at Manchester City…
“I think it's a double one in the sense that I would link that with the Liverpool game as well, where I thought it was a really good performance and certainly a performance which should have given us something to take away from the game.
“But certainly the way the players performed in that game was very consoling and gave us a lot of hope and expectation that we would come out of this bad period as the players come back from injury, and I think the Man City game just confirmed that really.
“Luckily of course, even had we lost that game 2-1, which could have happened, I still would've been feeling pretty good about the way the team is performing, the spirit, the energy, the determination, and not least of all the tactical discipline that we've shown in those two games.”
On facing Brighton & Hove Albion…
“Well, I think every game, especially home games, has got to be regarded as an opportunity, even if it's Liverpool or Man City you're playing at home.
“But I think Brighton are a really good team. I think they proved last season when they got into Europe. I think the way they've started this season shows that they've carried on from where they've left off, perhaps even improved upon it, so I'm not suggesting that the game against Brighton is an excellent opportunity to win because we know it's going to be very, very difficult to win.
“We'll have to produce the type of performance we've produced in the last two matches, and even that might not be enough, but it's a home game and it comes after two games where we believe that the players have shown a lot of good qualities and we hope if we can bring those qualities to bear again tomorrow night, that will give us a chance – but not more than that.
"It's not a question of, well this is Brighton, it's going to be easy now. I think Brighton, in many ways, are very similar to Manchester City in the way they play.”
On the rivalry between the Eagles and the Seagulls…
“Well, funnily enough, it didn't exist in the time when I was a true fan or supporter of the club as a boy really, or a very young man – it’s only just come about in relatively recent years.
“But we embrace it, we understand it and we accept how important it is, and we take on the extra responsibility that the fixture against Brighton always brings. The players are very much aware, even the ones who have come into the club at a later date, everyone knows that this is a big game, Crystal Palace v Brighton, and it is one where we've got to really step up and make certain that we give our best performance.”
On Dean Henderson’s first Premier League appearance for the club…
“We were very pleased with his performance. It was a tough ask for him because he didn't have an awful lot of time to sort of prepare it.
“It was a question of Sam [Johnstone] getting injured during the course of the game against Liverpool and then another game coming up not so much longer afterwards where we needed him [Henderson] to play.
“Everyone was delighted with him and delighted for him. He did extremely well. How the competition between the two will pan out, time will tell. One should never really complain about having two very good goalkeepers, but of course as a manager you run the risk of being in the position where you're going to make one pretty unhappy.
“We were really happy with what Sam Johnstone was doing, so even more credit really to Dean to come in and give us something really else to think about by performing so well on his league debut for the club.
“He played a short while up at Manchester [United] before he had to come off injured, but now he's back hopefully and looking forward to this game coming up tomorrow night.”
On the role the fans will play against Brighton…
“The fans always play a big part. All clubs rely a lot on their home fans. We have certainly a good reputation in that respect as well. People, to some extent, have a lot of respect about coming to Selhurst Park because of the way the fans do get behind the team and the noise they create and the help they give us. That is very, very important.
“It is one thing to go out and say: ‘yeah, we really want to win this game and we really want to attack, and we really want to take the game to them and we really want our fans to get behind us.’ But really it's like saying the sun will shine tomorrow. It's that level of statement.
“What you've got to do is produce the performance that will get you there. When it comes to the sun shining tomorrow, there's not so much you can do about – but in terms of preparing for a game of football, we can do a little bit more than that.”
On Brighton’s own recent injury troubles…
"Well, I suppose you have to ask [Roberto] De Zerbi really about how he feels about it ,with regard to the sort of team he can put on the field, and how strong he feels they're going to be and what sort of mood and confidence they're going to bring to the game. I have no idea.
“It doesn't really interest me that much, their recent results, and it certainly doesn’t interest me whether it was against a London club or a midland club or a northern club. What interests me really is what team Roberto De Zerbi is going to put onto the field. I know they'll be well prepared. I know they're a good team. I know that the way they play causes every opponent problems, so why not us?
“But it is up to us to make certain we’re as prepared as we can possibly be, so that when the referee blows his whistle, we're ready to go out there and play.
“And then of course, as in all football matches, you really hope that if anything's going that can be what would be described, I suppose, as luck, or a bounce of the ball, or a bit of good fortune, one is always hoping for that – because football isn't a science, it is a game. And unfortunately, those factors do play an important part.”