ROY NEEDS CRACKING WINDOW

ROY HODGSON admits the January transfer window could make or break Crystal Palace’s season.

The Palace boss learnt a harsh lesson during Tuesday’s humiliating 4-1 Carabao Cup defeat at Championship Bristol City.

Hodgson will return to his first choice line-up today for the visit of fellow strugglers West Ham.

But he knows he needs to improve the depth of his squad if Palace, who have won just one league game, are to move out of trouble.

He said: “We have got a group of players here who will be good enough to keep us in the league if we can keep performing and use these 29 ® games to the best of our advantage. But to really be sure that we will give ourselves a chance, we certainly do need some reinforcements because the squad doesn’t go down anywhere near far enough.

“It’s all very well having the same team playing in two matches and doing pretty well in those two matches, but that can’t carry on for 29 matches.

“The Bristol City game was a lesson, a salutary lesson as well, because watching players in training and watching them in games can be two very different things. And it’s the games that count. I learned a lot more about certain players in 90 minutes on Tuesday night than maybe I had done in six weeks training with them.

“So that could be a good lesson to learn.”

Hodgson (right) insists sporting director Dougie Freedman is already working to pinpoint new recruits.

He said: “He’s starting to collate information then he intends to sit down with me and the owners of the club and we’ll see what is possible to do.”