New Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson says he fears the coming weeks could be "painful" after his side made it five losses from as many Premier League games this season with a 1-0 home defeat to Southampton.
The Saints, who were without a goal away from home before their trip to south London, were ahead early when captain Steven Davis slotted home from Wayne Hennessey’s parry inside ten minutes
Hodgson now has plenty of work to do on the training ground ahead of their League Cup tie with Huddersfield, before facing both Manchester clubs and champions Chelsea in their next three league games.
With one eye on the daunting fixture list, Hodgson said: “It is five defeats, zero points and a really tough programme ahead if you look at the quality of the opponents.
“So, it’s painful today, and I fear it is going to be painful in some of the moments going forward.
“But there is no way you can talk yourself out of that and there is no point in making bold statements that might not be ratified in some way.
“We have just got to get down to working with the players, deciding which ones are the best ones to get us out of trouble.”
