Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson has claimed his players do not require motivation for the remaining games after the south London side's safety in the Premier League.
Ahead of their match against AFC Bournemouth, Hodgson said his players are enjoying their football and their time together and look forward to and understand the importance of each game.
The veteran manager also discussed the 'old manager vs new manager' debate, revealed his plans for non-starters for the remainder of the season and praised a "tough" Bournemouth side.
Player motivation after safety
Once safety is confirmed for a side, they can often be 'on the beach': nothing left to play for so performances drop.
However, Hodgson has claimed that his side do not require motivation for the finally three Premier League games and insists they are as ready as ever to tackle the remaining fixtures.
“No, I don’t think it’s hard to motivate them. They’re enjoying their football and they’re enjoying playing together. They look forward to each game. There’s no need to motivate.
"We want to win the last three games and we know what we have to do to do so. If we do it: fantastic. If it moves us up the table: even better still. We’ve reached our target already, but we want to do more and move on."
Respect for O'Neil
Following Scott Parker's early-season dismissal at Bournemouth, not many expected his replacement to keep the Cherries up. Gary O'Neil, however, has defied expectations and has guided a struggling Bournemouth to Premier League safety.
With impressive results like an away win against Tottenham Hotspur and a 4-1 thrashing of Leeds United, Hodgson was more than justified in his praise of the 39-year-old.
“[Premier League safety] is a fantastic achievement, there’s no question of of it. Anyone in football recognises the difficulty of the task that Gary’s had and appreciates the enormous job he’s done in confronting that task.
“I’m certain the people at Bournemouth must be absolutely delighted with him. He seems to have a good relationship with the players on the field – they are definitely doing what they’re asking of him.
“[I have] a lot of respect for him. I don’t know him well. I remember him well as a player. I shall be pleased to meet him for the first time on Saturday.”
Old managers vs new managers
With the return of many veteran managers to the Premier League and beyond, including Sam Allardyce, Neil Warnock and Hodgson himself, many have wondered if it was too early to write them off considering their recent success.
Hodgson said that there is no great disparity between the old and new generation of managers, claiming that much of modern football philosophy has been seen before.
“I don’t think there’s that much in football that is particularly new – if you go back far enough you’ll find evidence of it. Not least of all the false nine.
"There’s good work, coaching and management, teams that are well organised and the coach has found a way to get the most out of their players and a formation that suits them.
“I don’t regard myself as taking on younger coaches or even in the same bracket a far as we’re concerned were playing against the team and the way their organised. I don’t see it as a direct confrontation between an old guy and a young guy."
Injury Update
Hodgson revealed that Palace may be without some key players ahead of their clash against Bournemouth.
“Unfortunately we’ve lost Luka Milivojevic to an injury in training this week. His name gets added to the ones who have been injured for a while."
James McArthur has returned from injury, but Hodgson revealed that a late decision will be made on Jeffery Schlupp as he has been nursing a slight knock.
Changing faces in the team?
Once safety is confirmed for a Premier League team, a manager may begin to experiment with the side and give minutes so some of the underutilised members of a squad.
Hodgson has no such plans, claiming that Palace are in no mood to change what is not broken and insist on continuing their strong form with the same team until the end of the campaign.
“They would have to be in the team because I think they are better than the ones who have been playing. Theres no intention for us to use these games as some sort of experimental activity – there’s no need to do that.
"We know how good Chris Richards we is know how good Naouirou Ahamada. Its not a question of testing these guys out, they’re good enough to get in the team. I wouldn’t be concerned if they played, but I don’t intend to move people deliberately."
Bournemouth a "tough" fixture
Only a point separate Crystal Palace and Bournemouth but both teams will be looking to end their seasons on a high.
Hodgson claimed he is not expecting an easy game and praised the south coast side for their toughness.
“They’ve been excellent. It’s an incredible rise that they’ve had from a very difficult start.
“Studying them, as we’ve done this week, we realise that they’re a very good team and they are where they are on merit. I’m not surprised to see them where they are in the table.
“We’re expecting a very tough game because they’re a team who play on the front foot and like to take the game to the opponent and likes to have good possession of the ball, and they have the skilful players to pull that off.
"We’re preparing for a tough task at home and I hope we’re going to be ready for it.”
Praise for goalkeepers
Sam Johnstone has been Palace's first choice goalkeeper since injury saw Vicente Guaita face a stint in the side line. However, Hodgson has emphasised the quality of both players and stressed the importance of having two quality goalkeepers.
“We didn’t drop Vicente Guaita – there was no need to do that because he was playing well and doing a good job for the club, but he got injured.
"He played the first game [against Leicester City] and did well to do so, because he reported an injury at half-time, but he bravely stayed on and saw us through the second-half.
“But then, it was found he had an injury and had to come out of the team and that gave Sam Johnstone his chance to put the gloves on. He’s done exceptionally well since then.
"He also, when he came, had a period of sustained injury, so he had to wait a long time for that chance, but we’re very fortunate – we have two first-class goalkeepers."
Easier than expected?
When Patrick Vieira was sacked in February, Palace saw themselves edging towards an undesirable relegation fight.
When Hodgson was appointed, many expected Palace to be in the bottom six dogfight for a while.
However, after three early wins Palace saw their way out of the storm of relegation and finally mathematical safety.
The Crystal Palace boss reflected on what turned what has been a calmer second tenure in south London.
“It’s certainly been a lot less of a rollercoaster that it could have been. Our fantastic start of winning three matches in a row, that’s a good start for any team in the Premier League whether your top of the table or bottom.
That [first] nine points makes an enormous difference to everything: table position, the confidence of the players and their belief.
“We could play the recent games without that knife that you have at your throat all the time when you’re worried about getting points."
Behind the scenes of Roy Hodgson's technical area
Hodgson shed light on how him and his coaching staff operate on match days and beyond, specifically praising his assistant manager Paddy McCarthy.
“He’s a very good coach. He doesn’t necessarily need to go beyond that. He’s a very good communicator. If I’m looking to employ a coach I’m looking for personality, confidence and knowledge. He’s fitted in extremely well.
“We like the balance and that we know each so well and that he's someone who’s come from the academy world and knows about the young players and can keep us informed. He’s got an outstanding potential to have an exceptional career. I cant speak highly enough of him."
“He and Ray [Lewington] do an awful lot of work to prepare what we are going to put to the players. Analysing our last match and then more importantly to prepare the next match. On the field its very much a case of the three of us working together, but not having specific roles as such.
Crystal Palace face AFC Bournemouth on Saturday 3pm at Selhurst Park