18-month contract leaves door open for England job
By Michael Burke
15 Feb 2011 13:17:00
Liverpool Manager Roy Hodgson (Getty Images)
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Hodgson, who had been linked with the England job before agreeing to move to Liverpool last summer, has just taken charge at Premier League strugglers West Brom and told reporters how he felt during his time at Anfield.
The ex-Liverpool manager said: "I can't for one minute suggest I felt wanted at Liverpool.
"The people who wanted me at Liverpool didn't stay for too long.
"The new owners at Liverpool found themselves in a difficult situation because we weren't winning enough games.
"The fans made it perfectly clear they wanted me gone and somebody else in.
"Of course I wasn't happy to be sacked by Liverpool.
"I went there with the right intentions to work for three years.
"I wanted to take Liverpool back to the very top spots but wasn't given the time to do that.
"The perception of you when go into the job is very important.
"It is no secret I wasn't perceived by a lot of people as the manager they wanted at Liverpool, they wanted someone else.
"That makes life a lot more difficult.
"You just have to accept these things happen in football but you do feel wounded.
"Every time you lose a job your pride takes a hit."
Hodgson, who was in charge for only seven months at Anfield, was hired from Fulham last summer by the club's former controversial owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett. The appointment was made after the 63-year-old won manager of the year in 2010 and guided Fulham to the final of the Europa League.
In October, the club was taken over by John W Henry and the New England Sports Ventures and Hodgson's position at the club always seemed precarious as the new owners looked to bring their own man to start a new period in Liverpool’s history.
Henry eventually gave Hodgson the sack after the fans turned on him and started chanting Kenny Dalglish’s name on the terraces, with Premier League defeats to Wolves and Blackburn sealing his fate.
Although the ex-Inter Milan and Switzerland’s immediate concerns are with changing the fortunes of West Bromwich Albion and ensuring that they stay in the Premier League, Hodgson has signed an 18-month deal at the Hawthorns that leaves the door open for him to succeed Fabio Capello as manager of England.
He added: “I have been fortunate enough to be mentioned in dispatches several times with England.
"If the FA decided I was the right man I would be more than happy to do the job."
