Crystal Palace may not be relegated yet, but Roy Hodgson believes they can avoid the drop.
“It could be a good year if it ends up with Palace in the Premier League and the fans happy,” said the new Eagles boss.
“I believe the team will stay up. Absolutely. I wouldn’t have taken the job if I didn’t believe that, or that me and my coaching staff would be the people to do that.”
The former England boss played for Palace’s youth team in the 1960s, but his playing careeer never progressed any further.
“It’s a chapter in the book of life opening for me, and one I’m looking forward to,” he added. “One I’m hoping brings joy to the fans of Crystal Palace. That would be special because I am a Croydon boy and didn’t leave here until I was 24 years of age.
“This is a 34-game season. We’ve had a bad start, and we’ve handicapped ourselves by not taking any points from the first four games.
“But our focus is really on May, not the end of September. Leagues aren’t won or teams relegated in September.”
He’s certainly got all the right expressions for a manager determined to keep a team up, but time will tell whether he has the tactical ability to claim the points needed to avoid the drop.