james mccarthy Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace midfielder James McCarthy says that Roy Hodgson’s meticulous planning and oversight are the reason so many players are fond of working with him. McCarthy joined Palace last summer after six years at Everton, though his last three seasons were seriously interrupted by injury. McCarthy has featured in 24 games in the Premier League this season, and admitted it is just nice to be back playing regularly.
James McCarthy said: “It’s been brilliant to be back playing football, to be honest. [There were] a couple of years that I haven’t really played much. But it’s a nice feeling to be back on the pitch. It was obviously the gaffer who took me here. He’s constantly on the pitch, making sure of every detail in training. He’s constantly on everything.
“He’s got Ray [Lewington] with him as well. He’s got a good set up. As I say, he’s constantly shooting into everything, making sure every little detail gets pointed out. Before this pandemic we were constantly having meetings in the afternoons to make sure every detail was taken on board. Going into matches, he makes sure he ticks every box and then leaves it up to us to go onto the pitch, and he’s obviously done his job in making sure we’re ready to go.
“We had a few chats but it’s not been too much about tactics and stuff. But he’s phoned everybody individually to make sure everyone’s ok and on top of things. But with the way things are just now we’ve had meetings on the pitch with social distancing but we’ve not actually had a sit-down meeting – I’m not even sure if that’s doable at this time. But every detail – he makes sure he’s on top of everything.”
