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Palace will stay up, I wouldn't have taken the job otherwise - Hodgson

Roy Hodgson believes he can keep Crystal Palace in the Premier League and "bring some joy" to the fans.

The former England manager replaced Frank de Boer, who was sacked on Monday after 77 days with winless Palace bottom of the league.

The Eagles face Southampton at home on Saturday, having lost all four league games this season without scoring.

"It could be a good year if it ends up with Palace in the Premier League and the fans happy," said Hodgson.

"I believe the team will stay up. Absolutely. I wouldn't have taken the job if I didn't believe that, or that me and my coaching staff would be the people to do that."

The 70-year-old has been out of management since resigning as England boss after their defeat by Iceland at the last-16 stage of Euro 2016.

The former defender, who is from Croydon, played for Palace's youth team in the 1960s, but never broke into the first team.

Hodgson added: "It's a chapter in the book of life opening for me, and one I'm looking forward to. One I'm hoping brings joy to the fans of Crystal Palace. That would be special because I am a Croydon boy and didn't leave here until I was 24 years of age."

After Saturday's game, Palace face trips to Manchester United and Manchester City before hosting Premier League champions Chelsea.

He added: "This is a 34-game season. We've had a bad start, and we've handicapped ourselves by not taking any points from the first four games.

"But our focus is really on May, not the end of September. Leagues aren't won or teams relegated in September."