Source: SKY_Sports
Hodgson backs Harry and Sam
Fulham boss Roy Hodgson expects Harry Redknapp and Sam Allardyce to lead their respective sides to safety.[LNB] Redknapp is currently in charge of Tottenham, while Allardyce rules the roost at Blackburn.[LNB]Both men stepped into their current roles with the 2008/09 campaign already under way, charged with the task of steadying rapidly sinking ships.[LNB]While both are yet to pull clear of trouble, with Tottenham five points above the drop zone and Blackburn inside it, the signs are promising.[LNB]Spurs will believe that they have more than enough to secure their top flight status, while a point or better at Hodgson's Fulham on Wednesday will see Rovers climb out of the bottom three.[LNB]"I guess there are parallels with me (last season) and I think Sam and Harry would certainly say so," said Hodgson, who helped to pull off a miraculous escape act with the Cottagers last term.[LNB]"But the position when I took over was, I think, more perilous. I think that Harry, with the money he has had to make signings, and Sam, with the quality of the squad at his disposal, were in a more comfortable position in terms of what they found in front of them.[LNB]Response"Having said that, I was lucky that I got a terrific response from the players when I arrived and they put in performances that they had not put in before. That is what Sam will be hoping for.[LNB]"The lucky thing for Blackburn, as for Tottenham, is they have a manager of great experience - both of football and of the Premier League.[LNB]"Because of that I do not think they are going to get caught out by anything that happens and they will also be able to put perspective on victories and defeats. That is important." [LNB]Fulham will provide stiff opposition to Blackburn in midweek, as they currently sit 10th in the top flight standings, but Hodgson admits the club's continued progress depends on decisions in the board room, not in the dug out.[LNB]"That is not just a question for me, but also for the chief executive of the club and the owner Mohamed Al Fayed," he said.[LNB]"It is up to them to decide. If things go OK this season and we do achieve our goal of stabilising the club and being less relegation prone - which I said was the aim from day one - then we are looking better and it will be up to the chairman to decide where he wants to take the club.[LNB]"There is no doubt that to take the club to the next step, it won't purely be down to the coaching and the preparation we try and do, it will also be down to recruitment - what players we can bring in to strengthen what is a very fragile squad."[LNB]
