No respite for Hodgson

17 April 2011 20:00
Roy Hodgson is to sift through the wreckage of his first defeat as West Brom manager to ensure the Baggies cement their place in the Barclays Premier League for next season. Hodgson's six-match unbeaten run since taking charge at The Hawthorns in February finally came to an end on Saturday as Albion suffered a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Chelsea. In terms of a baptism of fire, Hodgson could not have anticipated a sterner run of games as Albion's first four at home under his stewardship have been against bitter local rivals Wolves as well as Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea. Up until Saturday's setback, Albion had taken five points from a possible nine at home and 12 from 18 overall to haul themselves clear of the relegation zone. With five matches remaining the gap to the bottom three is now six points, so undoubtedly there is still work to do. It is why Hodgson has no intention of allowing himself or his players to sit back and think 'Well, it was Chelsea we lost to.' "I don't think we should ever get to a stage where we are happy to absorb any defeat," said Hodgson. "We should be analysing why we lost, where we went wrong and where we could have done better. We should also look at what we didn't do in this game that we've perhaps done in so many other games, and to make certain we get back on track. We've played Liverpool and Arsenal here, two sides in very good form. "So I don't think we should be sitting back and thinking it doesn't matter simply because it was Chelsea. Overall, though, I don't think we can have any complaints about the fact we lost because Chelsea were obviously clearly better than us on the day."

Source: PA