ROY HOPING FOR ANOTHER GREAT TWAIN ROBBERY

Hodgson memories of his Etihad win

ROY HODGSON trawled through his easy-listening archive to try to find inspiration for a miracle from Shania Twain.

But after sifting through the flashbacks from a famous win at Manchester City four years ago, garnished by Andros Townsend’s wonder goal (above), struggling Watford’s manager warned: “They could run rampant and get a lot of goals in their sights.”

Hodgson presided over Crystal Palace’s shock 3-2 win at the Etihad in 2018, but the Hornets – seven points adrift of safety – were humiliated 8-0 on their last visit, and the former England coach conceded nostalgia doesn’t pay the bills.

He said: “I do have some happy memories from previous trips to Manchester but, unfortunately, happy memories – as Shania Twain (right) said – don’t keep you warm in the middle of the night.

“It’s nice to be reminded of them but, when the ball is fizzing around our box and City are coming at us from all angles at high speed, I’m not sure I will be thinking too much about Andros Townsend’s fantastic goal four years ago.”

At 74, Hodgson (right) is staring down the barrel at his first relegation from the top flight in 40 years as a manager – but he insists the prospect does not bother him.

He said: “If I desperately cared about it, I wouldn’t have taken the job. In fairness, I left Blackburn Rovers in 1998 with 21 matches left to play but they got relegated that year – so I had 17 matches in a team that went down.

“I got relegated twice with Bristol City – once as assistant manager and once as manager, but of course the club had gone into liquidation so it wasn’t a fair fight.

“I know how it feels – it’s a very nasty feeling. But in terms of my personal reputation, it worries me or hurts me a lot less than knowing the club and these players may have to face up to relegation.

“That’s what would be most disturbing for me.”