London (Reuters)
Crystal Palace coach Roy Hodgson appealed to the fans of the English club not to stop supporting his London team, which is facing the risk of slipping into the relegation zone after its results declined and it occupied 15th place among the 20 teams in the tournament.
Crystal Palace fans protested against the club's owners, while the latest criticism came after a 4-1 defeat earlier this month against arch-rivals Brighton & Hove Albion.
Hodgson (76 years old), who previously coached the England national team and Liverpool, among many other teams, said that his team cannot afford to lose the support of its fans when it faces its guest and neighbor Chelsea in a London summit tomorrow, Monday.
The veteran coach told reporters: “We cannot continue without the support of the public because we need it. This is one of the most difficult periods during my career for one reason, which is that the public turned against us a lot. The team will not be able to win matches and perform well if the public’s anger at it continues.”
Palace will play the match against Chelsea, which is ranked 11th in the standings, deprived of the efforts of its players, Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise, due to injury.
Hodgson added: “We need the public’s support now in particular, because we are in a very weak position, which we can overcome thanks to the public’s support and sympathy, because we will field players on Monday who have not previously played much in the ranks of Palace’s first teams.”
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