Roy Hodgson has accepted the blame for Crystal Palace's 4-1 hammering at the hands of Bristol City in the EFL Cup.
The Eagles exited the competition at the fourth-round stage after the Championship side recovered from Bakary Sako's opener to score twice in each half.
Hodgson opted to rest 10 first-team players ahead of taking to the Ashton Gate pitch and, after the game, the Palace boss admitted that his gamble backfired.
"Basically I took a risk and I take the responsibility for that," the 70-year-old told the official club site. "We've had a couple of tough Premier League games and played well in them, so I was anxious that we rested those players and anxious to see some players.
"A lot of those players out there I've not had a chance to watch in first-team action and it was an opportunity for them to knock on the door of the first-team and start threatening the places of the team I've played in the last two games. I'm bitterly disappointed that it didn't work out because there were very few performances out there that made me think I was picking the wrong team.
"I'm also very disappointed for the fans who came all this way not knowing what team I was going to pick and possibly thinking that they were coming here to watch the team that played against Chelsea and Newcastle, and I'm disappointed by the way we capitulated after the first 45 minutes when we had the better of the game. We contrived to give away goals at important times and we're on the back of a heavy defeat."
Palace return to action on Saturday when they host West Ham United in the Premier League.
Giuseppe Labellarte
