Crystal Palace hero Eberechi Eze has given credit to manager Roy Hodgson for turning the club’s fortune around after his brace in their 2-0 Premier League win at Southampton on Saturday.
The 75-year-old English tactician was temporarily brought back to Selhurst Park for the second time following the dismissal of Patrick Vieira after a poor run of results.
Saturday’s result was Crystal Palace’s third straight win since Hodgson took charge, scoring nine goals which has pushed them up to 12th place on the table, nine points clear of the relegation zone.
Eze owes the revived form to the confidence Hodgson has given the players.
“I think he [Roy Hodgson] has just given us the confidence in what we’re good at. We know what we can do. We know what we’re capable of, and he’s given us the licence to go and do that,” Eze said on the club website.
“We’re playing with a lot more freedom, more energy, and we’re so much more positive, which is a huge credit to the gaffer coming in and helping us with that.”
9 – Crystal Palace have scored nine goals in three Premier League matches since Roy Hodgson returned to the club, which is as many as they had netted in their previous 16 league games between November 2022 and March 2023 (9). Formula. pic.twitter.com/41eyCp81xl
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) April 15, 2023
Reacting to his brace against the Saints which took him to seven goals and three assists in 31 league games this term, Eze said: “I’m just happy to be contributing, helping the team and doing what I can to influence the game, because it’s been a tough period. To come out of it the way that we have is big for us.
“I’ll keep on doing what I can, keep on working hard, applying myself, and whatever happens, happens.
“That was a big game for us. We wanted to come here and win. We’ve been putting in good performances, working hard and it’s paid off, so it’s a big one for us.”
Palace have seven more games to wrap up the season and Eze wants his teammates to keep the momentum going.
“We’re looking at it game by game. We want to keep on winning and getting points.
“There’s no reason why we can’t putting in performances like that, and if we do, we’re going to get results. That’s the aim for sure.”
Palace will play host to Everton in their next league fixture next Saturday.
