Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson admits that he is grateful to the players for the way they've helped to turn around the team.

The London club were in serious danger of getting relegated when Patrick Vieira was sacked.

However, Hodgson has come in and showed he can bring about an immediate turnaround in form.

"When you start off, you never know quite what to expect," said the 75 year old to reporters.

"You hope the preparation the team has put in before the game is going to bear fruit and you're going to get some result from the efforts they have put in.

"But, you never quite know what's going to happen in football and you never know what to expect.

"When things go well it's always tempting to say better than expectations, but I'm not really certain what one's expectations are."

He added about their situation now compared to a month ago: "We knew four weeks ago our situation was a lot more precarious than the one we are in now, thanks largely to the fact that we've got 10 points from those four games.

"We're very grateful for it."

"But I don't think we should allow that to lessen our desire to get more points or to give us any complacency, because we will only be in a position we want to be in when we have more points."