Roy Hodgson
How are you feeling after seeing Watford relegated?
No different to how I felt last Saturday, when we lost to two late goals against Burnley. And that left us 12 points, plus goal difference, behind not only one team, but behind three teams, and I felt pretty bad then because that was pretty obvious we were relegated. Today, I have a lot of good feelings really. Firstly, from the reception, of course, from a personal point of view, that was fantastic. It was great to go out in front of that incredible Palace crowd again, to get that reception, that was something that was obviously very touching. But on a secondary note, I was also very proud of the team’s performance. I thought that was a really good effort. We go 1-0 down to a penalty. Our players in the box are convinced that there was a foul, [Hasanne] Kamara was pushed, and that’s what provoked the handball. And then in the second half, after 15, 20 minutes, we go down to ten men. And yet, still, we remain competitive to the last. The players showed a lot of character today, because they could quite easily, I suppose, have even been forgiven in many people’s eyes for not putting up that type of performance. But the work rate of the team, the shape of the team, the structure of the team, was really good throughout.
Were you expecting the reception like that from the Crystal Palace fans?
No, I don’t think so. No, I mean, when you leave a club and you move on, it’s all about the people who are at the club, who are doing the job for the club today. So, someone who’s done a job for the club in the past, they don’t have any right to expect any recognition, for their past work. I was absolutely delighted to receive it, of course, and I can’t thank the Selhurst Park crowd enough. Nor can I praise them enough really for the incredible job they do in supporting their team. Because there’s no doubt, to play here at Selhurst Park with that crowd behind you, that is an enormous boost to your performance.
Do you kind of regret not going over to the Watford fans?
Unfortunately, they were a bit too far away. I mean, normally I would go to the Watford fans, but they were unfortunately on the far corner, and I was being dragged, if you like, towards the tunnel by one or two of the Palace players that I know. But yeah, I suppose in hindsight, you’re probably right. But hindsight is a wonderful thing. But the Watford fans have been very good. I’ve got to say. I was very impressed with them today. And I was impressed last week as well, for that matter. Because they also are not stupid people. They also realise that probably, this is going to be curtains for us, and yet still, they cheered us on, even had some gallows humour.
How difficult has this week been for you knowing relegation is certain?
It’s been a tough week. There’s no doubt about that. And that’s why today’s performance really satisfied me. Because the week has been really tough one. And come here to Crystal Palace with the team they’ve got and the form they are in, we could so easily have collapsed and we’ve suffered a serious defeat. As it is we lost 1-0 with ten men, to a penalty which we protest should never have been given.
Any regrets taking the job?
No, none at all.
Ben Foster played well, would you want him to keep playing despite his contract being up in the summer?
Well, Ben obviously he defies his age. He’s still a good goalkeeper. He did make three or four good saves today but to be fair, he wasn’t bombarded. Because our back four and defending even from the front protected him very, very well. When called upon. He was there to make two good saves. Absolutely. And that’s why is a top class goalkeeper. But I wouldn’t presume to talk on his behalf about whether he should continue or whether he should now retire. That will be purely his decision, but I am prepared to say that I still think he’s a top, top goalkeeper and has done a wonderful job for Watford Football Club.
What can do you do to keep the player motivated and take something from these final few games?
We’re going to try to do what we did today. Basically, we’re going to come here, we’re going to go out there and believe in ourselves. We are going to prepare the game so that we know what Everton are going to come with, and so we know what to do to try to keep them out. And what we’ve got to do to maybe get in behind them and score goals. And we’re going to work on that for a couple of days. And then I’m going to go out with the players and ask them to reproduce today’s performance because that was probably as good an away performance as we’ve given, it’s on a par with the Liverpool one where we also lost. But that won’t be easy, because it’s a short turnaround, basically. The players gave a lot today. So I think they’re going to need a lot of tender loving care if they’re going to be able to get out on Wednesday night and give anything like that sort of performance they’ve done [today] later. But I think today we showed what the team can do. And that we aren’t a hopeless case by any stretch of the imagination. Maybe, with hindsight, we can point to a few unlucky moments, which maybe turned the season against us.
How disappointed are you right now?
I think that’s fairly obvious how I feel. I’ve never been, I’ve never sat and given a press conference in charge of a team that has been relegated. So it’s a first for me. And it was at first I wasn’t looking forward to claiming. I haven’t felt good all week. And as I’ve said, now on two or three occasions, the only thing that has cheered me up was the fact that the players today showed such a lot of character and gave a good performance against the strong Crystal Palace team.
Do you have a message for the Watford fans right now?
I thought they were very good. I think they’re realistic, too. Yeah, I feel they’ve probably been feeling low all week. And yet still, they show character today. They came here, they needed a bit of gallows humour. And they cheered the team on all the way through. So I think they deserve an awful lot of credit. I mean, they’re never going to out shout the Palace fans, because there are so many more of them. I thought they were very good in our last home game the fans. But I don’t think the players or the club could have anything other than respect and admiration for the way these fans have tried to get behind the team and tried to keep the team going through a difficult season when really, right the way through, we’ve been looking up the table and never down it.
How good was it to see Eberechi Eze back on the pitch today?
Yes, absolutely. He’s worked very, very hard to get fit. And to see him back, you know, playing to his best, that’s something which obviously gives me a lot of satisfaction. I’m so pleased for him. But it was very nice, of course to see so many of these players I’ve worked with and spent so many good moments with. And I was a bit concerned that they would overrun us and you know, in our situation, then the situation they’re in with a lot of momentum, we would be going away from here – not humiliated – but somewhat embarrassed by the result. And I must say, I don’t think anyone would suggest that we should be embarrassed by the result. I never know of course. I mean, I think like a football coach, not a journalist because I might be wrong, you might be sitting there thinking, ‘Well, I thought they were embarrassed. I thought they were hopeless. I didn’t see anything positive to say.’ And if that’s your feeling, that’s your feeling. But, my feeling is that they did as much as they could do today and it shows an awful lot of character, not least of all when we went down to ten.
Who were the Palace players who wanted you to go to the fans?
I’ve got to say that I’m not one really that goes over to fans. And so no, it’s not been something which you can identify in my career. I respect the fans very much. But I’m not one of those who’s always trying to curry favour with the fans. I didn’t curry favour with the Palace fans. That was a spontaneous action on their part which I reacted to. So if you want to make a big thing about not going to the Watford fans, it’s up to you. It was literally nothing in that. Quite frankly, it didn’t really occur to me. Because they were a long, long way away, and secondly, they know. Fans aren’t stupid, they are not stupid people. It’s always little things you are looking for. Like last week, a guy tells me there was a big discussion about why I was wearing sunglasses. I had a bump on my eye and a massive red face. So I wanted to disguise it, but that suddenly becomes news. I feel there’s enough to write about in the game, I don’t know why you need to write about things that literally, in my opinion, as a football person, have no value whatsoever. Write about the game.
What positives can be taken into next season for the club going into next season from your time in charge?
Not for me to say. Ray [Lewington] and I have worked to the very, very best ability. We worked as hard as we could work, we’ve shown as much passion as we could show and try to carry out our mandate, to give the team a bit more defensive structure, particularly because we believe the three front players would just run away and score goals anyway, we worked very hard on that. But it will be for other people to decide whether that was of any value or no value at all. Because I’m not prepared to stand here and defend, if you like, what we’d be doing. It would be for the people to look at the games and decide. You know: did they do a good job or not?
What was missing from the team and what is needed to make Watford a Premier League club?
The people in charge of the club they’ve got a very clear idea of what they expect from the players and what they need, what needs to be done in these last few games. I should be certainly liaising with the owner and the sporting director to make certain that if there are players that they need to look at, see in action, and would like to see in action in these last three games, I’ll be working on behalf of the club with their views going forward. But of course, I won’t be advising unless my advice is sought out.
