Hodgson calm despite Stoke setback

15 November 2010 15:07
iverpool manager Roy Hodgson believes Saturday's disappointing 2-0 defeat at Stoke should not set the alarm bells ringing at Anfield.[LNB] The Merseysiders have recovered well in recent weeks after a slow start to the season with the setback at the Britannia Stadium - which came courtesy of goals from Ricardo Fuller and Kenwyne Jones - their first in seven games in all competitions.[LNB]And former Fulham boss Hodgson believes trying to maintain a degree of equilibrium after wins and losses is key.[LNB]"I don't see why it (the defeat) should give us enormous reason to doubt what we are doing or doubt what we are capable of doing," he told the club's official website.[LNB]"I don't expect this result to dent confidence any more than any bad result does or any end to a good run dents your confidence.[LNB]"We are talking about two or three games in a season. I find it hard to have to explain that every time you win a game things are flying forward and when you get a bad result they are flying backwards.[LNB]"I'm a 38-to-55-game-a-season man and I make my judgment over that period.[LNB]"I don't get euphoric when we play well against Chelsea and I certainly won't become anything other than realistic and determined to move on to the next step when we lose a game.[LNB]"The conclusions that are being attempted to be drawn are too big conclusions.[LNB]"We're realistic. We know we've still got some work to do, get some players back to fitness and work at our game."[LNB]The international break will frustrate Hodgson's bid to work with his players over the next few days but he remains confident he will get it right.[LNB]He added: "All you can do is work but unfortunately we won't have a lot of chance to work as some players are going away with their national team.[LNB]"The longer we work together the more the players become attuned to what we want from them.[LNB]"I don't think I need to fear one setback is going to throw us back into a bad situation."

Source: Team_Talk