Palace vs Spurs | Ange's preview - admiration for Hodgson and players 'raring to go'

Ange Postecoglou paid tribute to Roy Hodgson’s career and longevity in the game as he prepares to cross swords again with the Palace manager on Friday night.

Back in May, 2016, Ange was in charge of the Australia team that met Hodgson’s England in a friendly at Sunderland’s Stadium of Light. England won 2-1, with Fraser Forster in goal, Eric Dier and Andros Townsend came off the bench, Marcus Rashford marked his debut with a goal.

Fast-forward over seven years and the pair meet again in the Premier League, with Hodgson back in charge of Palace at the age of 76, having been reappointed by the Eagles towards the end of last season.

Speaking to Inside Spurs on Friday, Ange said: “Roy’s had an outstanding career, still going, and for someone like me in particular, who’s had a different journey, you look at guys like Roy and I’ve huge admiration for him.

“He’s pretty much done it all in the game. As a manager, obviously you want to have success, but it’s the fullness of your experiences that make your career meaningful.

“If you look at Roy, he’s coached here, abroad, big clubs, small clubs, fought for honours, fought against relegation, coached countries, he's had an unbelievable career and, for all of us, someone we all have to admire.

“I know whenever he does end, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to end any time soon for him in terms of his managerial career, he’ll look back and he’s had the full experience, something we can all aspire to. I’ve come across Roy a few times in my career and he’s an absolute gentleman with his time and always respectful. It’s great to see him still going.”

As for the test ahead, Palace under the lights in SE25 is always a tough task, as is every game as Ange pointed out. "We’re certainly not the kind of team that can go in and think we can dismiss any opponent as someone we can dominate easily.

"We’ll have to work hard, it was a disappointing result for them last week (a 4-0 loss at Newcastle) and they are going to come out, especially on their home ground, where they have been very consistent, especially defensively,. We’ll have to be on it to try to impose our game on them and make sure we continue our good form. Looking at the way the guys are trying, they’re all fit and raring to go."