Roy Hodgson plotting his ‘greatest escape’ with improving Crystal Palace

For a manager who has bounced out of a European Championship at the hands of Iceland and gone back into the Premier League, Roy Hodgson knows all about survival. But if he keeps Crystal Palace up this season, he admits this will be his greatest escape.

Fulham looked dead and buried in 2007-08 when Hodgson followed a mediocre first four months by winning the final three games to stay up. West Bromwich Albion were nose-diving when he arrived at the Hawthorns in February 2011 but finished 11th.

Both of those achievements led to glory – Fulham reaching the Europa League final two years later; Hodgson leaving West Brom for England – but if Palace can maintain their promising recovery to survive after losing their first seven games of the season, he may yet have topped the lot.

“It probably would be, funnily enough,” he said after gaining a welcome 0-0 draw on a heart-warming first return to the Hawthorns on Saturday. “That was a great escape [at Fulham] but the seven games, zero points, is probably as big a shot in the foot as you are ever going to get in the Premier League, so if we can avoid relegation having done that – nothing will detract from my memories with Fulham Football Club and the wonderful memories here, but I hope I will leave Crystal Palace one day with the same type of feeling for the club and the job I was able to do as I was for Fulham and West Brom.”

The neutral arrived at the Hawthorns to assess Alan Pardew’s immediate impact at Albion but left admiring Hodgson’s. So did both sets of fans, as well, as they chanted his name in unison at the end. “It was unusual to get both sets of fans applauding you,” Hodgson agreed.

Palace have now mustered 10 points from eight games to climb off the foot of the table, reflecting a momentum and typical Hodgson organisation that could yet lead to the kind of recovery that earned Tony Pulis the award for manager of the year with the London club four years ago.

Hodgson even has Christian Benteke and Wilfried Zaha working hard out of possession, something both managers praised, and Palace are difficult to break down while threatening to recover the attacking penetration missing on their travels stretching back 10 away games, a Premier League record.

As Hodgson was welcomed back to his old club and appreciated by his new, Pardew made a promising bow in his new home while getting brickbats from his ex. “Alan Pardew, it’s all about you,” sang the travelling Palace fans, choosing to remember the terrible league form of 2016 over the run to the FA Cup final.

Pulis’s successor not only achieved Albion’s first clean sheet in 10 games, he even had them passing the ball through the thirds as they finished the stronger, Salomon Rondon heading narrowly wide seven minutes from time.

Pardew went with three forwards, intent on sending a message to players and supporters that Albion can play on the front foot, even if they were better in a 4-4-2 shape after the interval. He successfully implemented a better transition when out of possession – “We stopped Palace second half from creating anything,” he said. “It’s from that platform that your flair players can go and win the game [in future]” – and knows that confidence to play a faster possession game will come with results.

“You’ve got to remember that we were playing against a Roy Hodgson team and they were very well drilled,” Pardew said. “They’re a better team than the league table suggests. So they made it difficult. There were moments when we’d like to have had a bit more composure in your pass and your movement but it was a decent performance.”

Pardew has several key players due to return from injury as he targets the nine or 10 wins required to stay up while Hodgson, who could name only five substitutes after the late withdrawals of Wayne Hennessey and Scott Dann following a nightmare train journey from London, is confident he has the requisite strength in depth to make a good fist of a survival bid. He may need to; reports of an imminent announcement of ground redevelopment may keep the purse strings tight.

“We are still down there,” he said. “I shan’t be happy until the spectre of relegation is a distant memory and that is going to be a long time ahead.”

He hopes both clubs avoid relegation and sees hope from above. “I think there are teams further up the table who come May might find themselves in a more difficult position than West Bromwich Albion,” Hodgson said.