Roy Hodgson has dismissed suggestions Crystal Palace have lost their creative streak as they prepare to visit Wolves on Wednesday.
Palace defended impressively on Sunday to limit Chelsea to only one goal in a 1-0 defeat when a wider margin of victory had been expected, but having fallen behind they also offered so little in the final third that an equalising goal never looked likely.
Having had to do so well to escape relegation last year, Palace have since struggled to consistently score – they have netted only five times at Selhurst Park this season – but Hodgson insists their finishing ability is his only concern.
To that end the promising Dominic Solanke is expected to arrive on loan from Liverpool, and the Palace manager said: “We’re certainly not playing with less freedom. Analyse the home games; we’ve had far more possession and goalscoring opportunities but we’ve not converted them.
“We’ve only scored five goals at home, but that disguises a lot of football that’s been played. Am I happy that some of the possession has only given us five goals? Should we have had more? The answer is a resounding yes.
“Look at all the teams down and around us, and we’re all in that situation. There’s not a team down there, certainly in the bottom seven or eight, who has a good record in front of goal.
“One or two may have scored a few more, but pretty much we’re all in the same ball park. We haven’t conceded that many.”
Wolves have made an impressive impact since their promotion, they sit seventh and at the weekend won 3-1 away to Tottenham, and the 71-year-old Hodgson said: “This year (of) the teams promoted Fulham and Wolves have splashed out enormous sums of money. But Cardiff, Newcastle and we haven’t.
“You accept the situation that’s prevailing at your club and take the job on knowing that is the situation, and try and make the most of it. Chequebooks aren’t always the answer. Sometimes you splash the cash and get great success, but Fulham have spent more than us and are well below us.
“Wolves can congratulate themselves on the players they’ve bought. Fulham, on the other hand, might not. I have no complaints. We work as best we can within the parameters the club needs to set.
“We’ve not spent a lot recently, but a lot has been spent over the years. As a manager, you have to understand that residue is still there. You’re lucky if you can go to a new club and say you don’t like what you’ve got, I’d like more players.”