Roy Hodgson addresses Michael Olise call that left Gary Lineker shaking his head
Roy Hodgson has insisted he took advice from Crystal Palace’s medical team before bringing Michael Olise off the bench vs Brighton.
The Eagles were thrashed 4-1 by their rivals, leaving Hodgson’s charges perilously close to the Premier League drop zone. Supporters made their feelings known towards both the players and manager as their miserable run continued.
And the decision to bring Olise off the bench, despite him not being fit enough to start at the Amex Stadium has also drawn fierce criticism. The 22-year-old picked up a knock at the end of the win over Sheffield United in midweek and had been a major doubt to play any part against Brighton.
However, despite being 3-0 down at the time, Hodgson turned to Olise, who managed just 10 minutes before going back off with a recurrence of his hamstring issue.
Match of the Day host Gary Lineker was left perplexed by the whole situation, questioning the thinking of risking Palace's star player with the game already out of hand.
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“I’m trying to get my head round it - the medical side said he’s OK to play, but not OK to play a whole game?” Lineker said on Saturday night’s show. “If you’ve tweaked a hamstring four days before, you’re not fit, And if it’s not a hamstring, then you’re fit to play the whole game.
“And then to actually put him on when they’re 3-0 down and the game is over...it just doesn’t make any sense!”
But Hodgson, who is facing louder calls to be sacked as Palace boss, said the decision to introduce him after the break was done so with the approval of both the medical staff and the player himself.
Joachim Andersen was confronted by Crystal Palace fans after the final whistle (Ian Tuttle/REX/Shutterstock)"I was told that he couldn’t start the game and I was quite comfortable with that," Hodgson explained. "They told me - and he told me - that he was fine to be on the bench and to play in the second half.
"Unfortunately I wasn’t to know that was going to lead to a recurrence of his injury. That’s exactly what we did.
"You can say ‘you were losing 3-0, why put one of your better players on?’ But it’s because we bought him all the way here to be on the field in the second half."
Palace’s forlorn stars faced a brutal reaction from furious travelling fans after the full time whistle, with the home stands taking their own shots at Hodgson. But despite winning just two of their last 14 in all competitions, he is adamant he will see the job through.
"Taunts from supporters are part and parcel of our lives and, at the moment, our own fans are not happy with the way things are going so they're making their feelings known,” he added.
"But I signed up to be the manager of this club and I've got the strength, resilience and determination to see things through.
"I'm certainly not going to be cowed by that sort of thing and I'm certainly not going to give you the satisfaction of saying I'm hurt by that kind of thing because it's pretty obvious.
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"Everyone wants to be liked, praised and told they're the best. When that doesn't happen, yes, it's a little bit hurtful."
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