CHRIS Richards says he was just happy to get the nod to start from Roy Hodgson after performing a defensive midfield role in Crystal Palace’s 1-1 draw at West Ham.
The centre-back’s last full 90-minute display came in his more familiar position at Aston Villa in mid-September, although he has previously played today’s job as a late substitute against Forest in October.
American international Richards has found opportunities limited this year, but he made the most of today’s selection by helping Palace stop a run of two straight defeats.
Asked by Palace TV if he was anticipating starting in an unfamiliar position, he replied: “No, not really. I wasn’t expecting it but I just want to be on the pitch, so I will do whatever it takes.
“Against Forest I did (play there), but I was kind of surprised to play it today.
“I felt like I did pretty well. I’m a bit more defensive than anything, so I enjoyed that aspect, but again I just liked being on the pitch and getting a point.
“There are a bit of similarities (to defence), I’m just not used to the ball going over my head like that.
“That was something that took a bit of getting used to but I enjoyed it today.”
Richards was also keen to praise Odsonne Edouard after his early second-half equaliser cancelled out West Ham’s early lead provided by Mohammed Kudus.
“Definitely,” he said when asked about Edouard’s alertness to make the most of the opportunity.
“It is always good to score and always good to have somebody that is a bit like that up top.
“I think it bought a lot of confidence to us for the second-half.”
Meanwhile, England defender Marc Guehi told Sky Sports there was never any sense of panic in the Palace dressing room after those recent Everton and Luton setbacks.
He explained: “Since I’ve been in the league, you get moments like this.
“I had it last season and the season before, where we might’ve gone on a run of successive losses, or it might be difficult.
“It’s important that we stay calm.”
Guehi added: “We’ve got so many senior players in the team who have gone through these experiences.
“Today it was important that we made sure we got a point away from home against a good opponent.
“It’s typical Premier League, that type of stuff. It was steady.
“We’ll look back on it and think we maybe could have done a bit more on the ball, been a bit braver with that final pass, that killer moment.
“But like I said, it was important we stop the bleeding and get a point.”
