Gerrard and Carragher applaud Hodgson despite Anfield failure
POTENTIAL England captain Steven Gerrard has heaped praise on new England manager Roy Hodgson, insisting his disappointing stint at Anfield was a question of timing.
Gerrard lauded Hodgson’s technical qualities and his man-management, following the West Brom chief’s surprise appointment to the top job on Tuesday.
The midfielder’s comments will be seen as a fillip to Hodgson amid questions over whether England’s players would have preferred Tottenham’s Harry Redknapp.
“I think it’s a good appointment,” said Gerrard, a leading candidate to skipper the team at this summer’s European Championship after John Terry was stripped of the armband earlier this year. “I think all the candidates were good but Roy’s a good manager. I’ve worked with him before. I think he got the Liverpool job at the wrong time.”
Hodgson lasted just 191 days at Liverpool before being fired during last season, but Gerrard says he has always held the experienced coach in high regard.
“My opinion on Roy hasn’t changed, either before he got the job, while he had the job or after it,” he added. “He was very good tactically, very thorough, a great guy, very loyal and honest with the players, and that’s all you ask for.”
Gerrard’s Liverpool team-mate Jamie Carragher welcomed Hodgson’s appointment as another chance for the 64-year-old to win over a sceptical domestic audience.
“I’m delighted for him,” said Carragher, who came out of international retirement for the 2012 World Cup but has not represented his country since.
“For the short time he was here I got on great with him. It was difficult, what happened here for him, and it’s another chance on a real big stage.”