Mystery surrounds future of Sheffield United relegation rivals' manager after press conference cancelled

Mystery surrounds the future of Roy Hodgson at Sheffield United's relegation rivals Crystal Palace this afternoon, after his scheduled press conference was cancelled. The Eagles' official explanation was that the former England manager had been "taken ill" during this morning's training session.

But the veteran boss was reported to be on the verge of the sack today, with former Eintracht Frankfurt mana­ger Oliver Glasner lined up as a replacement. Hodgson was scheduled to face the media today ahead of Monday's crunch clash with fellow strugglers Everton, but will now not do so.

"Unfortunately, today’s press conference will no longer take place as scheduled as Roy Hodgson was taken ill during this morning’s training session," a tweet from Palace's official account read. The cancellation does little to dampen speculation about the 76-year-old's position at Palace, who are five points above the bottom three after losing three of their last four games.

Their only victory in that run was a 3-2 victory over United and half of their 24 games so far have ended in defeat. Reports at the time that anything but a positive result against United would spell the end for Hodgson, with chairman Steve Parish concerned about being dragged further into relegation trouble. Their latest defeat was a 3-1 defeat to Chelsea, turning up the heat on Hodgson further.