The victory over Huddersfield Town is the starter ahead of the main course of top flight games against both Manchester clubs and then a home match against Chelsea.
The manager believes that the players need to build on the tonic that the midweek victory has given them and concentrate on their own game as they head up to the match at The Etihad Stadium.
“The biggest positive is the win and we all know in football that even winning ugly is better than playing well and losing. I took a lot of satisfaction from the way the team played on the night, especially in the first half so I was pleased with our performance and even more so with the win.
“We know we now go into three tough games and we don’t want to be setting ourselves any points target because we will be setting ourselves up for a failure going for that target. We know it’s going to be a tough ask but we will take each game as it comes and do the best we can in each individual game and cause the opposition as many problems as we can and of course and try and make certain we don’t concede."
Hodgson believes that a vital component of being in the top flight is testing yourself up against the best in the league and they certainly get their chance to do that over the coming weeks.
The bookmakers odds may suggest that his side are up against it but the experienced boss says he knows whatever the form book says it’s about what happens once that first whistle gets the game underway.
"Our aim must be to show we are very competitive and hope that our performance is better than we can expect and they are not quite as good as their manager would expect.
"We need points and performances, the squad are playing for places in the team and to impress me and the coaching staff to show us they are the ones we should be counting on.
"What you do need to remember when you are at the wrong end of the table is that when you are playing a team at the other end is why you are playing in the Premier League is to test yourselves against this quality of opposition so no one should be worried or anxious about the challenge we have ahead of us. The players should be embracing what they have ahead of them this weekend but realistically we know on paper they have a better chance of winning the game than we do but the game is played out on the field so let’s give it a go," said Hodgson as he left for the journey up to Manchester on Friday afternoon.