Roy Hodgson coy on management future despite 'getting old'

Roy Hodgson refuses to rule out taking another job in football when his short contract at Crystal Palace expires at the end of the season.

The 75-year-old's second spell at Selhurst Park got off to a winning start on Saturday, the Eagles collecting all three points for the first time in 2023 courtesy of a last-gasp 2-1 triumph over Leicester to keep hold of 12th in the Premier League.

The former England manager now has nine matches left to secure the London club’s safety in the top flight and admitted that, while most people of a certain vintage might prefer to take it easy, he is open to whatever offers could come his way.

"I don’t really bother about my age because I don’t really feel my age," said Hodgson, who first managed boyhood club Palace for a four-year stint from 2017-2021 before announcing he was stepping back.

"But the fact is, it’s a truth that I am getting old, and I would be very surprised if Crystal Palace wanted to go down that route (of appointing Hodgson permanently) and I certainly wouldn’t be pushing them to go down that route.

"But then I wasn’t pushing them when they came to me and asked me to come back now either. I don’t push people. I’m flattered when they come and ask me to do the job, and I’ll try to do it to the best of my ability.

"I'm not actively seeking to keep going, but who knows what the future brings?"

"The one thing I am definitely not going to say is that after, when the summer comes, I am retiring. Because I don’t like the word 'retiring', really. I think I prefer 'I’m stepping back'.

"I’m not actively seeking to keep going, but who knows what the future brings? And if it brings something like this then I always want to be able to say I’ll do it without saying, well, I’ve got to come out