Roy Hodgson gives his first press conference as new Bristol City interim manager alongside Chief Executive Officer Charlie Boss.
The Robins surprised fans on Friday morning by announcing that the former England boss had been appointed as Gerhard Struber’s replacement on a contract until the end of the current campaign.
Bristol City’s defeat to West Brom meant they were winless in six games, leaving them 16th in the Championship after 39 games played.
š¤ “Is there any potential for long-term”
š£ļø “No, I’m too old…”Roy Hodgson on the challenge ahead after being appointed Bristol City manager until the end of the season! pic.twitter.com/GVanH5mxrL
ā Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) March 30, 2026
“I hope to get enjoyment and re-energise myself” šŖ
Roy Hodgson reflects on his return to management at Bristol City, but rules out the chance of staying on after this season due to his age š¬ pic.twitter.com/hV7DbdCobW
ā Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) March 30, 2026
Transcribed with the help of TurboScribe!
On what convinced him to take the job, Roy said, per Bristol Live: “I think it was the fact that it was a short-term project, a short-term appointment after the club made their decision to change.
“I think they were looking for someone to step in and were prepared to do a job for seven games.
“Of course, that appealed to me, because I have retired from the real maelstrom of working as a professional coach again. But I thought that I could manage five weeks, and I might even look forward to the five weeks, which has been the case so far.
“I can only thank the board and Charlie for thinking of me and asking me to come in.”
On if he could be the club’s head coach beyond the end of the season: “No. I’m too old.
“I’ve never been a sporting director, to be honest,” he added when asked if the role above the manager could be of interest. “I don’t really know what is even required of a sporting director.
“When Richard Scudamore first got in touch with me to ask if it could even be a possibility and put me in touch with Charlie, who then pursued it, it was always on the basis that we’d like you to come in and work like we think you do work for this five-week period. Then, at the end of it, I hope that they will have found their new sporting director, found their new manager, and the club will go from strength to strength; that’s my hope.
“I hope to get some enjoyment from being here to re-energise myself a little bit by being back on the grass with the players, something that has always been what I’ve wanted to do, because I must say, I didn’t come into football to do press conferences. I came into it to do work with players, and I made it clear to them today that I hope we’re going to enjoy our time working together, but I also made it clear early on that, unfortunately, the only way we’re going to get any enjoyment is if we become better and win matches.
“I think I made that fairly clear as well: I’m not here just for a ride, I’m here because I hope I’ll be able to do what Charlie and the board have brought me here to do.”
Bristol City chief executive Charlie Boss told BBC Radio Bristol: “I’m now going through a process of making sure we get the best possible person in; the aim is to do that as quickly as poss while still making sure we get that best person.
“The aim is to have someone here in the club ready to be in place for the summer transfer window and to really lead that recruitment process for a new head coach.
“I wasn’t happy with what I was seeing on the pitch, and I felt like there wasn’t a clear sign or plan of how things were going to get better,” Boss said.
“That’s no criticism to Gerhard and Bernd [Eiber, assistant head coach], who are unbelievably professional and incredibly passionate the entire time here at Bristol City.
“But I felt like there was this moment to do something where I thought we could get the team to play better and be better, not just for seven games but to start to lay the foundations for success going forward.”
On Hodgson, Boss added: “Part of the benefit of this decision is it really allows that [new sporting director] to come in and really design a sporting organisation, top to bottom, that they believe can get us to the Premier League.
“That is my number one focus; in the meantime, I can trust Roy to deliver what we need for the next seven games.
“I’ll then be able to sit down with Roy and get his diagnosis of where are we from a squad perspective and where are we from a capability perspective – and I know the new sporting director will really value that as well.”
Here’s how fans reacted after Roy Hodgson gives his first press conference as new Bristol City interim manager…
@yourbenpraters: Nothing screams ambitious club more than watching Roy Hodgson banging on about the mortgage moratorium in 1982. š #bristolcity
@Spurspapers: What on earth is the point of appointing Roy Hodgson ? Bristol city arenāt getting relegated or promoted what is the point? Man is 78 just let him rest š¤£
@sooty19771: Love seeing Roy Hodgson back in his beloved Footballā¦ itās his life š
@ihatetikitaka: same recycled bollocks about the club ādeserving premier league footballā and starting to ātake the steps to get thereā Weāve been Fed this narrative manager after manager for 2 decades. Give it a rest.
@OSIBPODMAG: Where does one even start with all that? Countless contradictions, Roy essentially admitting he doesnāt know why heās here. Goodness me. A total car crash from start to end.
@AlexF1BCL: After that Roy Hodgson press conference i don’t know what to say about the club tbh #Hodgson #BristolCity
@MrMattyDavis91: That was as painful as Lansdowns meltdown on radio Bristol in January
@smad1991: Some real cutting questions there from @SkySports come to a Bristol City press conference and asks about Spurs š¤”. Otherwise, like a chat with your Grandad, said a lot without saying a lot. Seemingly a move away from 3 at the back though, not all bad.
@RobinNestBCFC: Iām watching a 78 year old Roy Hodgson is a press conference as our manager. I still canāt believe this is real. Roy Hodgson brought in to help us with our recruitment of a sporting director and then saying he doesnāt really know what a sporting director does is quite something
@devils50: Incredibly dull watch for which no one came across particularly well in my mind. Charlie Boss from the school of Mark Ashton. Cant wait for the football on the back of that š
@Alfiebiggs: This Roy Hodgson press conference is unreal š š he’s just confirmed he didn’t get paid what he was owed in 1982 and had to remortgage his house. He is clearly there for the 150k or whatever he is getting and admitted no clue why he’s there. This is Rovers type stuff š
@DanielHealey20: As press conferences go it was a disaster from to start to finish #BristolCity
Well that press conference went well #BristolCity pic.twitter.com/ketp0FfvYZ
ā Martin šŗš¦ (@Mcbcfc) March 30, 2026
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