Roy Hodgson says Crystal Palace win over Norwich 'more important than people realised'

Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson says their Premier League win over Norwich last weekend was "more important than people realised", as they prepare to face London rivals West Ham.

Palace proved to be too strong for Norwich, running out comfortable 2-0 winners at Selhurst Park, Luka Milivojevic and Andros Townsend with the goals.

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The victory came after Palace conceded a 96th-minute equaliser at home to Wolves the previous Sunday, a result Hodgson says was challenging mentally.

"The last-minute goal against Wolves was very hard to take," Hodgson said. "To lose points in that way does affect you.

"It affects you mentally and it can easily affect confidence. It was strong from the players to put that behind them as quickly as they did.

"That [beating Norwich] was a more important win than many people realised."

The win was Palace's third in five games, and placed them ninth in the table with 11 points from seven matches.

Hodgson believes their positive start to the season is crucial, given a torrid run of games set to follow, starting with the trip to face West Ham at the London Stadium on Saturday evening, live on Sky Sports.

"It's going to be a big period coming up for us," said Hodgson. "It's just a question of keeping your feet on the ground and keeping the preparation on a weekly basis.

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"I'm pleased with where we are at the moment but that can change so quickly.

"It's very easy for those [defeats] to pile up, as the number of teams in the league capable of beating us are numerous.

"There's no point concerning yourself with that but do your best to make sure the players are as prepared as they can be, mentally and physically"

On their game against West Ham, Hodgson said: "They've got a very dangerous front line that's for sure and quality players right throughout the team.

"They're very capable of scoring goals and we're going to have to be very diligent in our defending and work very hard to stop them getting the chances they're looking for."

Palace host Manchester City after the clash against West Ham, before consecutive fixtures against Arsenal, Leicester, Chelsea and Liverpool.

'I don't want to jinx Zaha form'

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Hodgson believes star man Wilfried Zaha will be a pivotal figure in this period but does not want to jinx his good form of late.

"I'm frightened to say too much in case I jinx it," said the Palace boss. "His performances have been very good. He seems to be in a good place in terms of his attitude towards the club.

"When that is the case, we know we have a major asset that can help us win matches.

"I'm hoping he brings the form we've seen in the last two home games, as Zaha in that type of form is a potential match-winner."

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