ROY: WE ARE CUT ABOVE STRUGGLERS

ROY HODGSON is relieved Crystal Palace no longer have “a knife against their throat” – unlike Stoke.

Hodgson has worked wonders to steer the Eagles to mid-table and 38 points to all but guarantee their safety with two games to spare.

But Stoke are still deep in trouble, three points from safety, with just today’s home clash with Palace and a last-day trip to Swansea left.

Hodgson said: “Quite a lot of the games we play are against teams with knives at their throat. They have quite a bit of desperation in the way they need to play.

“We’ve got to be prepared for that. All we can do is make certain we play our football and keep our heads.

“We must make certain we don’t get sucked into a type of football they need to play because they have no option.

“But we do have an option. We can play a calmer more cerebral game if we want to because we don’t have the knife at our throat.”

But Hodgson warned Palace can’t continue being involved in relegation scraps.

He added: “I’m looking forward to speaking to the owners to put a plan in place so we aren’t fighting relegation next season.

“You can’t do it year after year and continue to survive. Next season will be important. We need to get our preparation right and get our recruitment right.”