Hodgson admits he is running out of answers as Palace fans vent fury

Roy Hodgson held his hands up to mistakes he made in Crystal Palace's 5-0 defeat at Arsenal but says there is little more he can do.

Hodgson, 76, looked to have turned the tide at struggling Palace last month with a 3-1 home victory over Brentford.

However, an FA Cup exit at the hands of Everton last Wednesday compounded by a 5-0 thrashing at Arsenal this afternoon resulted in travelling fans venting their fury at full-time.

Hodgson told TNT Sports: "Games tend to [unravel] if you're 3-0 down and especially if you make substitutions and the players we put on are young or without experience.

"Obviously, I should be more careful and protect the 3-0.

"We're going through a very bad spell. We were hoping to kick on and that's not happened.

"We deserved to lose the game because we played against a much better team."

The ex-England boss added: "Fans are always entitled to their opinions. They care and want to see a strong Palace team. Today, they were entitled to make their opinions felt.

"But I'm afraid there are times when we look at it from our position, the team and myself, and what more can we do with the people that we're trying to put on the field?

"It's not always that easy. Managers always take the full brunt of it. It makes me feel a bit sad and disappointed because I feel we're doing the best job we could possibly do.

"First we've got to stay in the league. Success will also be getting back to the type of football I know we can play but we have to get some of the players back who help us enormously.

"The people who make decisions about whether we can bring more players in will have seen the game today. They will have seen the situation we find ourselves in. It's not easy and I can only hope they succeed in their mission."

Palace sit 14th in the Premier League table having picked up only one win since November 4.

Selhurst Park chiefs have yet to add any new faces to Hodgson's squad this month and will hope to see a reaction from the Eagles on January 30 when they host bottom-placed Sheffield United.