'I proved I am still a capable manager' - Hodgson
Image source, ShutterstockRoy Hodgson came out of retirement to become interim manager at Bristol City
- Published25 minutes ago
Bristol City interim boss Roy Hodgson said he has proved to himself he can still succeed as a manager at the age of 78.
The former England and Liverpool boss has two wins, two draws and two defeats going into the final game of the Championship season at home to Stoke City on Saturday.
"I was relatively happily retired before this came along," Hodgson told BBC Radio Bristol.
"It just probably showed there are opportunities sometimes that come your way that maybe seem a little bit left field and you wonder, 'Am I really capable of taking this on?' And I proved to myself I am. There's no doubt about that.
"Any fears I might have had that, 'Well, you're too old for this now, you can't get out on the field with the players, you can't do the coaching and manage the team in the way you always did.' No, that's not true, I can do.
"On the other hand, whether I want to put myself in this position again and offer myself up for that type of employment, that's another question altogether.
"Because I am the age I am and I've had the career I've had, which I'm very pleased with and very satisfied with, it's given me so much.
"But I must say these five weeks here have given me a lot as well. So if this is the last time I step out on the grass, I've polished my boots today and if I do have to put them away they'll look spanking clean in the wardrobe. Who knows?
"Maybe something else will come up and once again you guys will say, 'He must be crazy because now he's accepted this opportunity.'"
Hodgson admitted he would miss the day-to-day involvement with players.
"I'm really pleased with everything that's happened here, and it won't be easy for me now to wean myself off it again because being out on the grass and being with a group of players who were so receptive, so good to work with, so keen to do well," he said.
"You leave that behind, and I'm certain there'll be mornings when I wake up in the future, thinking it would be nice to be out there with them again."
Hodgson said the club should aim to establish themselves as a top Championship club, ready to win promotion.
"It would be wonderful if next year, the team flies out, they play very well, they win games and they're top of the table," he said. "Great, but that might not quite happen.
"It might need to be a more subdued approach in the sense that what Bristol City need to do is to establish themselves very much as a top-six, top-eight team.
"If they can do that within a couple of years, then I think they could easily make the jump."
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