“Not only was Roy Hodgson a major influence on my career, he’s someone I’ve stayed close to after I hung up my boots, which isn’t always the case in the football business,” Murphy stated to the Daily Mail. “I sent him a message following the alarming reports that he had fallen unwell at Crystal Palace’s training facility, and his responses gave me comfort. He reported feeling good, assessing his situation, and putting his health first. It was pleasing to hear.
He even stated that he’s starting to understand it for himself. At 76 years old, he has every right to put himself first. During a challenging season for Palace, he surely felt a tremendous deal of responsibility, but if this is the end of his managerial career, he should depart in total peace of mind.”
Palace announced on Friday afternoon that Hodgson is stable and undergoing testing. It’s unclear who will be in charge of the team on Monday when they play Everton, but the manager who faced criticism the previous week spoke out strongly following a defeat to Chelsea.
Even in some of the other losses we’ve experienced, I believe we’ve demonstrated enough. I don’t have any worries about that since there have been many games where we could have really done a better job of things.However, I must stress that this is not a place for complacency. We acknowledge that we are in the bottom half of the standings and that we need to gain points in order to move out of the relegation zone.”However, if the inquiry is: Do I believe that this team of players is competent enough to get us out of here now? Yes, I do. I believe they gave it their all [against Chelsea], which strengthens my faith and conviction.”
