Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson believes his team’s recent form gives him plenty of confidence ahead of the visit of Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday.
The Eagles play their second home game of the season before the September international break, having narrowly fallen to league rivals Arsenal last time out at Selhurst Park.
Hodgson based his prediction on a resolute draw at Brentford, stunning wins against Sheffield United and Plymouth Argyle (the latter in the Carabao Cup), and solid pre-season performances against Sevilla and Olympique Lyonnais.
“Getting victories before going on international break, everyone knows that’s a very nice thing to do,” the manager remarked in his pre-match press conference.
“I won’t be disappointed if we play as well at home against Wolves as we did against Arsenal, because that was a very good performance.” I try not to perceive things in black and white terms; you can lose while playing well and win while playing poorly.
“I’m hoping we can maintain the form we showed in the last two pre-season games, as well as the four [competitive games] we’ve had [forwards].” Looking back on six games with our first team, I’m pleased with what I’ve seen so far.
Our duty now is to keep going, because this is not an athletic sprint. You can win a few home games and compete in races early in the season, but winning the 100m sprint at the conclusion of the season earns you an Olympic gold medal.
“That’s what we always think: we have to get that gold medal and keep producing performances, doing well, getting points, and making sure that if we get one or two good results, we don’t start thinking we’re no good when we don’t get them.”
For me, it’s more about preparing the team for the performance and threat that we know the Wolves will bring here, and making sure we’re competent of dealing with that situation.”
