Roy Hodgson hopes to secure Watford safety without needing Fulham-style drama

Roy Hodgson will call on all his experience of dodging relegation as he embarks on his latest rescue mission at Watford.

The 74-year-old was summoned by the Hornets to save them from the drop after they sacked Claudio Ranieri last month.

They currently lie 19th in the Premier League table, two points from safety, ahead of a trip to the only side below them, Burnley, on Saturday.

Hodgson has been in stickier situations, though, having kept up West Brom, Crystal Palace and, most notably, Fulham against the odds.

The Cottagers looked doomed with three matches remaining of the 2007-08 campaign but came from behind to beat Manchester City and then pulled off a dramatic great escape on the final day at Portsmouth.

So while the former England boss is under no illusions about the importance of Saturday’s match, he insisted: “If we don’t win we have to be careful not to say it’s all over.

“It should have been all over at Fulham when we were two goals down at Manchester City with three games to go. But we did it.

“So as far as I’m concerned, our faith will last until the very last moment we can’t do it any more.

“I do believe there are enough players of Premier League quality at the club to get out of the relegation zone. But the only way we’ll do that is if they produce the level of football required.

“I’d really like to think that we could do without the drama and get ourselves enough points to avoid the enormous tension that we had at Fulham that time.

“In the last five games we took as many as 12 points, it was something quite incredible.

“I mean, you’re not going to do that all the time. There’s no doubt about it. So if we want to survive here, we better start getting our points tally moving in the right direction a lot quicker than that.”