Hodgson delighted to have fab Frenchman back at last

ROY HODGSON paid tribute to the quality of match-winner Michael Olise as the Frenchman bagged a brace in Crystal Palace’s 3-1 win over Brentford.

The proud Eagles boss said: “He has made a big difference since he’s been back – we missed him for six months.

“What he’s done is he’s been Michael Olise, which is an outstanding player.”

Hodgson is now confident his side have finally turned the corner, adding: “We think we’ve dealt with the situation as best we can.

“We’ve never lost belief in the team, that this team will do well and are certainly not relegation candidates.

“But on the other hand you are a relegation candidate when you start slipping down the table with not many points between you and the teams below you.”

Hodgson was not best pleased when asked whether the result had proven links to Steve Cooper wrong.

He said passionately: “I’m 76 years of age, I’ve been working 47 years, I’ve got a CBE for my services to football and I’ve got a CV that’s incredible.

“That makes no difference to me and to suggest that it should is disrespectful.”

Meanwhile, Bees boss Thomas Frank is relishing the return of Ivan Toney, who will be available for Brentford’s next Premier League game against Nottingham Forest on January 20.

He said: “We’re losing Yoane Wissa to AFCON and Ivan is a top player, top character, one of our leaders and we can’t wait to have him back.

“It’s always hard to take a defeat, it’s always very painful.

“But I can’t complain about the effort from the players or the mentality.”