Roy Hodgson says he has every right to be confident after Wilfried Zaha’s 96th-minute equaliser earned Crystal Palace a precious point against West Ham.
Having gone into the half-time break two goals down, thanks to strikes from Chicharito and Andre Ayew, the Eagles seemingly took inspiration from Hammers’ showing against Tottenham at Wembley in midweek and sealed a dramatic comeback.
Luka Milivojevic’s penalty moments after the interval set Hodgson’s side up for a big second half and, helped by Michail Antonio's late error, Zaha netted at the death to prompt wild scenes at Selhurst Park.
With a fourth point on the board, having played 10 games of the season, Hodgson sees a reason to be cheerful despite Palace's lowly league placing.
“All teams at the bottom of the table need two things; they need character and they need ability," he told reporters.
“Character alone won’t help you survive [and] ability alone might not help you survive either because teams have gone down with a lot of very capable players.
"But I think with the ability and the type of performances we’ve given in the last three matches, and the character we’ve shown, I’ve got every right to sit in front of you and show a bit of confidence.”
Despite that confidence, Palace remain bottom of the Premier League, five points from safety, and with Tottenham at Wembley up next.
