Roy Hodgson back in game at 74 – Premier League’s oldest managerial appointments

Roy Hodgson has broken his own record as the oldest Premier League managerial appointment after being announced as Watford head coach until the end of the season.

The 74-year-old former England boss replaces Claudio Ranieri at Vicarage Road as the Hornets continue to look towards experience in an attempt to avoid the drop.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at the five previous oldest Premier League ‘new boys’.

After being sacked as manager of the Three Lions, Hodgson spent over a year out of the game before landing the job as boss of his boyhood club Crystal Palace. He would stay at Selhurst Park for four years, leaving last summer with the Eagles established in the top flight.

Ranieri made a surprise return to the Premier League when Watford turned to the man who guided Leicester to their unforgettable title success in 2016 after sacking Xisco Munoz. Just 14 days shy of turning 70, the Italian could not improve results and was sacked having lost 11 of his 14 games at the helm.

The former Holland boss was named interim Chelsea manager following the sacking of Jose Mourinho and guided them on a 12-game unbeaten run, finishing 10th. Hiddink had also managed the Blues for the final three months of the 2008-09 campaign. His nomadic coaching career saw Hiddink take in stints with the China Under-21 team and Curacao before announcing his retirement last year.

Took over at Sunderland in March 2015, a day after the sacking of Gus Poyet with the Black Cats one point above the relegation zone. Advocaat left after keeping them up but had a change of heart and signed a one-year contract only to resign in October. Went on to have a third spell in charge of the Dutch national team before time in charge of Sparta Rotterdam,