Roy Hodgson returns to the dugout at the age of 78 and takes charge of Bristol City

Former England coach Roy Hodgson has been named the new interim manager of Bristol City, a Championship club, at the age of 78, and returns 44 years later to a team he already managed in 1982.

Hodgson, whose last managerial role ended when he left Crystal Palace in February 2024, replaces Austrian coach Gerhard Struber until the end of the season.

“I have had very positive conversations with the board and I am really excited about the opportunity to help until the end of the season. We will get to work immediately and look for a positive result on Good Friday,” he said in statements to the club’s official website.

The ‘Robins’ occupy sixteenth position in the Championship, the second English division, and visit Charlton next Friday. The team has gone six games without a win, including an FA Cup defeat to League One side Port Vale.

The entity’s executive director, Charlie Boss, explained that Hodgson’s appointment “goes beyond the results of the next seven games.” “Over the remainder of the season, it will help us establish the club standards and values ​​that we will need to be successful in the future,” he noted.

“Roy is a coach with extensive experience who has succeeded and won at the highest level. He will support me, our players and our coaching staff as we work to reach our potential. We are in the process of appointing a sporting director who will be directly involved in the hiring of a new permanent head coach,” he continued.

Hodgson’s appointment marks his half-century on the bench, having landed his first job at Swedish club Halmstad in 1976. He had a brief spell at Bristol City in 1982, but was fired after four months, before going on to manage a series of clubs, including Inter Milan, Blackburn, Fulham, Liverpool and West Brom, as well as spending four years in charge of the England team.

His time at the helm of the ‘Three Lions’ ended with disappointment at Euro 2016, where they were defeated by modest Iceland in the round of 16.