Roy Hodgson
WATFORD boss Roy Hodgson says his side’s trip to Turf Moor this weekend isn’t the “be all and end all”. Hodgson took charge at Vicarage Road last week following Claudio Ranieri’s departure. The Hornets sit 19th in the Premier League table – just two points above the Clarets, despite having played two extra games. Hodgson admits Saturday’s game will be a tough test given the short amount of time he has had to work with the players.
Roy Hodgson said: “We’re going into it with me having come in eight or nine days ago meeting 23 new players. We’re not in the same situation Sean (Dyche) is in. He’s putting a team out that he has formed to play in a certain way. I’m a lot less confident that we will be as organised as his team is because he has been doing it for years and we’ve been having a go at it for eight or nine days. The game is going to be built up as the be all and end all, but it would be unfortunate for us if that was the case. For us to be able to say ‘yeah, this is the team that we really know and we really are confident that they are 100% behind everything we want to see’ – I would be a complete fool if I said that we are going to be in that situation. It’s going to be an experienced, well-drilled, well-oiled team against a team that I think have got the ability to keep us in this league and I’m fascinated to see how they will go on Saturday.”
Hodgson says the battle for Premier League survival is a “dogfight” but is optimistic they have what it takes to beat the drop.
Roy Hodgson added: “The teams at the bottom are all a bit adrift from the middle so we’ve got a lot of ground to make up. This particular league, in terms of relegation, is a dogfight. We don’t underestimate the task, but I know the board don’t underestimate it either. They are realistic, know it’s a big fight but believe the club are good enough to be in the league and they entrust Ray Lewington and myself the task of trying to mould them into a team that will get points in the remaining 18 games.”
