Hodgson asks for Palace relegation perspective

Roy Hodgson insists it is premature to label Crystal Palace’s Premier League match against Southampton a relegation “six-pointer”.

Only goal difference separates Palace and the Saints in the table heading into Wednesday’s St Mary’s clash, with the two relegation-threatened teams just three points above the drop zone.

But manager Hodgson feels now is not the time to start thinking each game is so crucial in the scrap to avoid the drop.

He said: “It is too early to talk about six-pointer games. “There are still 15 matches left to play and that’s an awful lot of football.

You should keep your powder dry when it comes to discussing six-pointers for the last four or five games of the season, when it is then pretty obvious what may happen.

“There are 45 points left to play for and normally 37 or 38 points keep you in the league.”