Roy Hodgson has hit out at the decision to reschedule Crystal Palace’s game against Manchester United to midweek. Palace have struggled without the presence of talismanic former United winger Wilfried Zaha, scoring just two in their last four games without the injured player. Hodgson was also upset that his side will now face a three-week gap between hosting West Brom on March 13 and travelling to Everton on April 3 due to the moved fixture and an international break.
Roy Hodgson said: “I doubt it, unfortunately. I think we will have to wait. The Manchester United game thrust upon us is something we are pretty unhappy about, especially in this current state of affairs when we do have so many of our first-team players unavailable. It is pretty tough to play Man United now and then get three weeks off when we don’t need three weeks off. I would have much preferred if this game had stayed where it was but it is part and parcel of being in the Premier League I guess and being involved in FA Cup competitions, the powers that be feel the need to move games and sometimes it will suit a team and sometimes it won’t. But I have got to say the game coming up on Wednesday definitely does not suit us. I would have much preferred to have a week now to get some guys back in form and give some guys who aren’t playing a few more days to possibly be ready. And most importantly give ourselves a chance to recover from two unbelievably difficult games against Brighton and Fulham where we have spent a lot of time working to defend out goal.”
