Roy Hodgson has called on his Crystal Palace players to “run their b******s off” to try to escape their miserable plight.
Rock-bottom Palace, still without a point or even a goal in the Premier League this season, slumped to a seventh straight top-flight defeat, 4-0 at Manchester United, on Saturday — and champions Chelsea are up next for Hodgson’s dispirited side after the international break.
Hodgson will be without several key players for that game on October 14 and says his players will need to increase their work-rate if they are to have any chance of dragging themselves out of the Premier League cellar over the coming months.
“[First-choice striker] Christian Benteke won’t be back for a few weeks, so we still won’t have a recognised centre forward,” said Hodgson.
“Wilf Zaha [Palace's star winger who has not played since being injured in the season opener] probably won’t be back. Ruben Loftus-Cheek can’t play [as he is on loan from Chelsea].
“So there are three quality players I can name off the top of my head who could have helped us do a better job against Chelsea.
“But they’re not there. So it’s got to be the lads I put out there who go out and run their b******s off — if you excuse my expression — to try to do the best job they can possibly do.”
Hodgson admitted tensions within the squad will rise in the weeks and months ahead, as he and his staff get tough with the players.
“Obviously, it’s going to get more fractious because we put our messages across quite strongly and there will be some players on the field who don’t pick up those messages as quickly as others,” he said.
“So maybe one or two of those who have picked it up get a bit irritated with one or two who don’t pick it up quite as quickly. But that’s nothing I can’t deal with.
“The mood has been good and the players have been keen to get down to work and try to improve their ability to defend and attack.
“We’re a wounded animal in more ways than one — because of the start we’ve had and the fact we’re doing it without five or six very important regular players.”