Roy Hodgson’s relegation battle experience will be key for Crystal Palace

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Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson has been in this kind of position before.

With 10 games remaining in the Premier League season, Crystal Palace’s situation is looking more and more precarious as we enter the crucial stages of the relegation battle – but Eagles fans need to remain calm.

Obviously, that is much easier said than done, but they have someone at the helm who has more than enough experience when it comes to dealing with these high-pressure situations. Roy Hodgson has been there and done that, and in truth, in much more difficult circumstances than he currently faces.

“Any teams who are going to avoid relegation will have strong ends to the season,” Hodgson told Sky Sports.

“You have got to string results together. I remember both of those periods very strongly. The one at Fulham was more dramatic because it went to the last day.

“On both occasions [Fulham & West Brom] I remember the enormous joy and satisfaction that the players and the whole club took, having overcome a very difficult obstacle in front of them and come out the other side smelling of roses.”

In the current Premier League climate there are several teams from 10^th downwards that could realistically be pulled down into the relegation scrap, which in itself, should serve as a silver lining for Palace. A handful of those teams do not know what it is like to try and lead a side away from the danger of relegation from the top flight, and with there being so many teams in the mix, all Palace need to do is focus on taking things one game a time.

A lot had been made of the club’s run of games that they have had to endure as of late, and while they have not picked up many points, they still remain just one point off of survival with their toughest remaining games being Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool.

While they all seem like uphill battles, the form of the Blues for example suggests that they are not as invincible as they once were – with the Eagles even beating Chelsea in the reverse fixture.

Beyond that, their schedule will see them face Huddersfield, Bournemouth, Brighton, Watford, Leicester, Stoke and West Brom. Those are the games that will define Palace’s season, and Hodgson’s experience in high-pressure situations should help his side make the most of the opportunities against the teams surrounding them.