Roy Hodgson is back in management after being named interim boss of Championship club Bristol City until the end of the season.

Hodgson, 78, has been out of work since resigning at Crystal Palace in February 2024 but will replace Gerhard Struber, who was dismissed this morning after just nine months in charge.

The decision to part with the Austrian and his assistant Bernd Eibler was made after a run of five league games without a win while City also exited the FA Cup with a disappointing defeat at League One strugglers Port Vale.

City CEO Charlie Boss said: “I would like to thank Gerhard and Bernd for their hard work over the past nine months and we wish them all the best.

“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.”

Bristol City’s season has petered out

City are 16th in the table with seven games to go. They are in no danger of going down but their play-off hopes are also over.

Hodgson is, therefore, a safe pair of hands to oversee the final weeks of the season while the club get their house in order ahead of what they hope is a promotion push next term.

He will meet the players and staff for the first time on March 30 after the international break and take charge of his first game four days later when they go to Charlton on Good Friday.

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.”

Hodgson started coaching adventure 50 years ago

Hodgson had a fairly undistinguished playing career, making 59 appearances for non-league side Gravesend and Northfleet but subsequently carved out a hugely successful coaching career.

After starting out in Sweden with Halmstad in 1976 he has gone on to manage, among others, Inter Milan, Blackburn, Udinese, Fulham, Liverpool, West Brom and Palace. He also had a three-month spell at Ashton Gate in 1982.

At international level, he has had stints in charge of Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, Finland and England.

He took charge of the Three Lions at Euro 2012, where they reached the quarter-finals before losing to Italy, and the 2014 World Cup in Brazil where a disastrous campaign ended with a group stage exit after failing to win a game.

He was given the chance to make amends at Euro 2016 but another woeful tournament saw England lose to Iceland in the round of 16.