Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson admits that the poor start to the season, which included seven consecutive defeats without scoring a goal, is proving difficult to claw back.

"We've got five points from the last five games, if we'd have had 12 points from 12 games we wouldn't be quite disappointed as we are," said Hodgson.

"We are fighting the lost cause in the sense of it being a lost cause that we can't get it back from those first seven games when we took no points and scored no goals.

"We've always been aware in the squad that it's going to take more than just a wave of the magic wand to put that right.

"And we're fully aware that we've got to continue at least in the same vein as we've done in the last five games and hope lady luck will be a little bit kinder to use than perhaps it's been in several of these last five matches."