Former England boss Roy Hodgson, 78, has come out of retirement to join Bristol City as interim head coach until the end of the season.
The announcement of Hodgson’s appointment comes at the same time that the club have announced the sacking of Gerhard Struber, who has overseen a disappointing run of results this season.
Bristol City are currently 16th in the Championship, and without a win in five games. They fell to a disappointing 1-0 home defeat against West Brom last Saturday, and the team were booed three times during the game.
Hodgson has been out of management since February 2024, after a second spell in charge of Crystal Palace, and will be in charge for the final seven games of the season.
His first game in charge will be against 18th-placed Charlton at the Valley Ground on Friday, before they host Sheffield United – who sit just a place below them – the following Monday.
Hodgson said: ‘I have had great conversations with the Board and I am really excited by the opportunity to help until the end of the season. We will get straight to work and look for a positive performance on Good Friday.’
Bristol City was just the second destination of Hodgson’s well-travelled managerial career – and he was appointed head coach for just four months in 1982
Bristol City was just the second destination of Hodgson’s well-travelled managerial career, in which he also held the post of England head coach between 2012-16. He moved to the West Country from Halmstad in 1980, joining Bob Houghton as his assistant manager from 1980 to 1982 before being appointed head coach in 1982.
But the club’s financial struggles ultimately meant his time in charge was short-lived, and he was dismissed after four months in charge.
‘Bristol City was nothing short of a disaster in that we had only been there for a matter of weeks before the banks started to pull the rug from underneath the club,’ he told the BBC in 2012.
‘My job when I eventually took over, as caretaker manager, was quite simply to carry on in the aftermath of all the players leaving the club and just fulfilling the fixtures.’
Hodgson will meet the senior team on Monday, following the international break.
City Chief Executive Officer Charlie Boss said: ‘Roy’s appointment is about more than the results of the next seven games. Over the remainder of the season, he will help us set the standards and values at the club that we will need to be successful going forwards.
‘Roy is a vastly experienced coach who has achieved and won at the highest level. He will support me, our players and our football staff as we build towards achieving our potential.
‘We are in the process of appointing a Sporting Director who will have a direct input into the recruitment of a new permanent Head Coach.’
