Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson ‘feeling better’, insists first-team coach Paddy McCarthy after the 76-year-old missed defeat at Aston Villa due to illness
- Roy Hodgson will not be in the dugout for Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace today
- The manager ‘became unwell earlier on Saturday’ ahead of the game
- Listen to the latest episode of the Mail Sport podcast It all starts!
Paddy McCarthy said Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson was recovering after the former England boss missed his team’s defeat at Villa Park due to illness.
According to McCarthy, Hodgson felt ‘a little unwell’ in the period between breakfast and the pre-match meal at Palace.
He said: ‘He is feeling better and we hope he will continue to feel better and be back with us sooner rather than later. We were in contact with him before the match and we will now speak to him after the match.
‘I did the entire preparation together with Roy. After breakfast and before the race meal he felt a little unwell, and then we found out. We continued to prepare.”
The win made it ten in a row in all competitions for Villa, who missed enough chances to secure the match long before the end.
Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson (pictured) was absent from the dugout for the Premier League match against Aston Villa at Villa Park on Saturday
Paddy McCarthy (left) took charge of Palace at Villa Park in Hodgson’s absence
Ultimately, Palace were punished for their frequent attempts to run down the clock when referee Darren England added 17 minutes, with two Villa goals coming in that period.
Manager Unai Emery said: ‘We played more with our hearts than with our minds in the last 20 minutes and sometimes you need that. In the end we deserved the win.
‘We want to be a contender in every competition, but the Premier League is the most important. We want to play here and enjoy every minute of it. We want to be competitive, learn and build our team.
I am very happy because all the players involved – both in the starting line-up and on the bench – had a good impact on the game.”