“I didn’t expect this…” Watford Manager on his surprising appointment

“I didn’t expect this…” Watford Manager on his surprising appointment

Watford has recently appointed the veteran Roy Hodgson as the club’s manager till the end of the season. The Club sacked Claudio Ranieri on Monday after three-and-a-half months in charge, with Watford 19th in the table.

The 74-year old had left his managerial position at Crystal Palace last summer as he declared his short-lasting retirement from football management. Talking to Sky Sports about his appointment, the former England manager said that he did not expect the call for the job and he is not thinking about whether the club will extend his contract at the end of the season.

Roy Hodgson said, “Of course, there will be discussions to be had. But, I’m not looking to these five months to provide me with a platform for the next job. I’m not looking for that.

FS Video

“But, who knows? When I left Crystal Palace, I said I think it was the right time for me to step aside and to move back. People wanted to put that down to retirement and I think you will remember, I was quite categoric at the time. I said ‘I might be retiring but I am not certain that I’m not certain that I am retiring because something might come up that suits me well and I would like to do’

“That’s exactly what happened here. I didn’t expect this, It came out of the blue, it came very quickly and I’m very pleased it has come up and for me, that’s more than enough at the moment.

Talking about whether he will look to extend his managerial career at Watford, Hodgson clearly mentioned that he will not deny the possibility and might decide to continue.

“That’s it, we move forward, we’ll see. I wouldn’t say never to that either. [on the idea of continuing as Watford manager beyond this season]

“But I’m not using the job in these five months to get myself a platform to get myself another contract. That will be up to the club and if they chose to do so.”

Also read: Erling Haaland likes watching this Premier League player in his free time

Hodgson won’t demand signings in Watford

Watford training session with Roy Hodgson

The former Crystal Palace manager when asked about Watford players and new signings said that his job is to help the club stay in the league and that he is happy to do it with the available bunch of players.

He further said, “And if the owner decides he wants to present somebody else, of course, we will look into it, but there will be no knocking on his door from my point of view, saying we should do this and that, because it’s far, far too early.“

Also read: “I turned it down…” – Former Everton player on the club managerial role