Football: Soccer-Questions over job speculation ‘disrespectful’, says Hodgson

LONDON (Reuters) – Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson gave a robust response when asked if he was affected by speculation about his job on Saturday, branding the suggestion “disrespectful”.

The veteran’s team snapped an eight-match run without a win with a 3-1 home victory over Brentford.

But the result came after what Hodgson acknowledged was a “difficult run”, in which Palace won just one of their last 12 Premier League matches.

Hodgson’s future was called into question with reports that he could be replaced by Steve Cooper, recently sacked by Nottingham Forest, or other available candidates.

Asked by reporters in his press conference whether he thought about the speculation, Hodgson said: “No. I think about the match and what needs to be done.

“There’s no point, you can’t affect the outside noise. If the noise isn’t directed at me it would be directed at somebody else because that’s part and parcel of the game.

“No weeks ever go by without noise being directed, so when you’ve been in football as long as I have you have to understand that, it’s part and parcel of football.

“But my attitude has always been: ‘I’m employed to do a job, I shall do it to the best of my ability’.

“If there are people who want me to leave the club they can tell me and I’ll have to do it.”

When Hodgson was asked again about the Cooper speculation and whether Saturday’s result had proved his detractors wrong, he gave an unequivocal response.

“I’ll tell you what I really think,” Hodgson said. “I’m 76 years of age. I have been working 47 years.

“I’ve got a CBE for my services to football and I’ve got a CV which is incredible.

“So my final answer to you is that makes no difference or has any interest to me at all and to suggest that it should is disrespectful, that’s what I think.”

(Reporting by Sam Tobin, editing by Ed Osmond)