Watford boss Roy Hodgson says he’s looking forward to a “special” match against former employers Crystal Palace when the two sides go toe-to-toe at Vicarage Road on Wednesday.
The 74-year-old spent four seasons in south London with the Eagles before departing last summer and taking some time away from the dugout.
He has since returned to the top level of management as the Hornets’ third permanent manager of the season following Spanish coach Xisco and Claudio Ranieri, both of whom were axed with Watford’s Premier League status still hanging in the balance.
Hodgson said he was looking forward to the game against his former employers but that he was fully committed to sending them packing without a result.
“It’s a special match because my four years at Crystal Palace were very special,” he told reporters on Monday. “It will be strange to be lining up on the other side wishing them harm and wishing us well.
“There’s never any sentiment, you work for the football club that are paying your wages and relying on you to get a result for their team.
“It will happen more and more where managers come up against former clubs and players, and it’s very rare I have a Premier League game where there aren’t players on the opposing team that I know well or have worked with!
“It’s a special occasion, not least because of our table position and the need for us to get results.”
Hodgson’s time at Palace saw him secure the club’s top-flight status and keep them afloat before both parties decided to go their separate ways.
For the Eagles that meant appointing new manager Patrick Vieira, who was quickly backed with just over £60million in summer transfer signings.
Marc Guehi, Joachim Andersen, Michael Olise, Will Hughes and Odsonne Edouard were all captured on permanent deals as the club made a bigger outlay in one summer than they had in multiple windows under Hodgson.
Despite that, the former England boss said he harboured no ill feelings towards the club for a perceived lack of spending while he was at the helm.
“Palace are doing well, they’ve improved the team and brought some very good players into the club,” he added. “Furthermore they still have the basis of that experience that I was able to use when I was there.
“Nothing miffs me about Crystal Palace because I spent four very good years there.
“I was given the support the club was able to give me. Luckily they’ve been able to give Patrick even more support, certainly in terms of money and the players they could buy.”
Hodgson added that despite Palace’s summer investment, it had not directly resulted in immediate improvements in terms of results on the board.
The Eagles currently have 26 points after 25 Premier League games - six less than Hodgson’s Palace side had at the same stage in his final season.
“We’re very quick in this country to point out things are much better, then only to point out things are much worse even when you’re describing exactly the same situation,” he said.
“I was reminded we had 32 points after 25 games last year, so we must have been doing something right.”
