Roy thrown straight in at the deep end
IF HE was in any doubt beforehand, Roy Hodgson got a taste of the singular scrutiny to which England managers are subjected when he faced the media for the first time yesterday.
Perched slightly awkwardly, Hodgson was bombarded with just about every awkward question imaginable. Could John Terry and Rio Ferdinand coexist in peace? Would Steven Gerrard be captain? Then a curveball: did he now regret time playing in apartheid-era South Africa some four decades ago? He shuffled a touch as he batted away the first two but was robust on the latter. He also gave a confident and forthright response to the issue of Wayne Rooney’s selection.
Yet there was an elephant in the room in Harry Redknapp, and why the Tottenham boss was not interviewed. Such was David Bernstein’s reluctance to elaborate that he would not even utter Redknapp’s name; referring instead to “him” and “other candidates”.
Sensing hostility, Bernstein went to lengths to elaborate on Hodgson’s credentials. The new man himself, meanwhile, three times appealed for the country to get behind him and trod a fine line between a sensible downplaying of expectations and the sort of sober reality to which England’s followers are unaccustomed.
Occasionally, he smiled nervously, like a candidate keen to impress at a job interview, but soon reverted to that lived-in poker face. Overall, he maintained the dignity for which he has been praised. The trick will be keeping that intact over the next four years.