Roy Hodgson continues to remain coy on his Crystal Palace future despite being out of contract this summer...

What's the word?

Speaking ahead of their Premier League clash with Southampton on Tuesday evening, the 73-year-old veteran wouldn't be drawn into speculation about his future.

"I think that’s been going on in the background all the time anyway. It is not like that at a football club that you wait for a moment in time and suddenly you make big decisions," claimed Hodgson. "As far as I’m concerned the next games coming up are the most important things, certainly as far as my future and what I intend to do."

London News Online claim it is 'highly likely' that Hodgson will step down from his role upon the expiry of his contract, with several names linked to the Selhurst Park post, including Frank Lampard, Sean Dyche, and Eddie Howe.

Parish boost

There are only four matches left to play in the 2020/21 season and the Eagles are mathematically safe, so it does seem rather strange that no announcement has come forth, especially as his one-year extension was already confirmed by the end of March last term.

This certainly does seem to hint towards it being his final few games in charge of the southeast London side, having been appointed at his boyhood club back in September 2017.

Currently, his record stands at 53 wins from 158 matches, a win rate of just 33.5%, per Transfermarkt.

Hodgson's 364th top-flight game in charge will come on the final day of the season against one of his former teams, Liverpool, in what would be a fitting way to go out at Palace.

All of these developments point towards a new era and that should delight both chairman Steve Parish and the fans alike as it means they can now get underway with their future plans.

The Eagles CEO will know that he either needs to find his next manager as a top priority or start drawing up transfer plans for the summer, with similar names like Eberechi Eze the main focus.

Given it seems likely that Hogdson is departing next month, you'd imagine that Parish has already met with several potential successors - Football Insider claim Dyche is his number one target, whilst Howe has reportedly held talks with the Palace hierarchy too.

Much of the Eagles faithful have every reason to get a little more excited heading into next season, now and the fact that Parish can get a new, fresh manager in without having to sack Hodgson is a win for him, both in terms of a PR move and also financially.

AND in other news, Fresh claim emerges on Roy Hodgson's Crystal Palace future, would be bad news for fans...