The Cottagers can virtually guarantee Premier League safety if they topple FA Cup finalists Portsmouth at Fratton Park on Sunday.

Victory would complete an astonishing escape act for a side that looked doomed just five matches ago.

Hodgson believes his team's exposure to a flurry of do-or-die clashes in the past month will prepare them for their critical finale.

He said: "It's good for the players to have a bit of stress. They do need to be aware, and they certainly are, of how important this game is.

"For the last seven or eight matches it's felt like our existence in the Premiership has been on the line. Every one of those matches has seemed like a cup final."

Relegation from the top flight is said to cost £35million but Hodgson insists that figure is of limited relevance to himself and his players.

He said: "The sum involved is for the club to worry about and while we are aware of it, we have to live our lives in terms of trying to get results for football's sake.

"We can't take responsibility for it being £35million if we win and this or that if we lose.

"The sum involved obviously puts pressure on the club and the club therefore puts pressure on us, everything gets filtered down.

"But as a football person you have to think in terms of what you can do in terms of your job.

"Your job is to win matches and whether that means you gain or lose £35million is not something we can take with us into the match."

Portsmouth face Cardiff in the FA Cup final six days later but Hodgson refuses to believe that boss Harry Redknapp will field his reserves.

"The Premiership is an honest league and all the teams take responsibility for doing their best in every game," he said.

"Everyone is entitled to pick the team that is best for them and no one can blame managers for selecting a different team if they have something else on.

"No one will take Harry to task for resting one or two players but I can't imagine for one minute he will rest a lot, just one or two that are nursing knocks."