Hodgson seeks defensive improvement

18 February 2011 18:00
New West Brom head coach Roy Hodgson has called on his team to show their defensive mettle ahead of their crucial west midlands derby against Wolves on Sunday. The Baggies have conceded the most goals in the Premier League so far, having conceded 51, and Hodgson was watching in the stands when they let a three-goal lead slip against West Ham last Saturday. The former Liverpool boss believes that giving teams a head start, or letting them back into the game as was the case last week, is not an option. He said: "The teams that are at the bottom and are fighting to stay in the league have all got to be aware that if we're going to leak or give away goals, or make it easy for the opposition to score, then we're making a fairly large rod for our back. "It's hard to score goals in this league against any team, and if you're giving yourself the handicap of a two or three goal deficit every game then you've got to have some wonderful players to be scoring the necessary goals to win you the matches."

Source: PA