CRYSTAL PALACE HAVE moved quickly to replace sacked manager Frank de Boer, this evening officially announcing the appointment of former England boss Roy Hodgson.
The 70-year-old takes the reins at Selhurst Park on a two-year contract following the dismissal of de Boer after just 77 days and five matches in charge.
Hodgson has been out of management since resigning as England manager at the end of Euro 2016 and said he was ‘excited’ to be back in football at a club he has always ‘loved and admired.’
“This is very much the club of my boyhood and I remember in my youth watching the club from the terraces at the Holmesdale Road end which gave me such fond memories,” he said.
“In those days I had dreams of playing for the team, then as a coach you think about coaching the team and a lot has happened in between times.
“It is very rewarding to find myself here now, in different times, as the Palace manager at a club that I have always loved and admired with a huge potential. We are the club of south London, with an enormously large fan base. The ambitions here are realistic and there is an enormous potential for growth and I hope we can achieve our goals.
“I am very excited to be back in club football and it is a long while since I have enjoyed the day to day sessions of training.”
Hodgson will be in position to take charge of Palace’s Premier League clash with Southampton on Saturday as the club search for their first win, and indeed point, of the new season.
Hogdson’s managerial career has spanned five decades and 15 clubs in eight different countries, as well as four national teams. He has previous experience in the Premier League with Blackburn, Fulham, Liverpool and West Brom.
Crystal Palace are currently rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table having lost all four of their opening games.
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