´I am too old´ – Hodgson rules out long-term stay with Bristol City

Roy Hodgson insisted that he is “too old” for a long-term role in football management as he does not plan to stay with Bristol City beyond the end of the season.

The former England boss was appointed as interim manager for the Robins, who are 16th in the Championship, having been out of work since 2024.

The 78-year-old’s first job in English football came at Ashton Gate, while he has since gone on to manage the likes of Inter, Liverpool and Blackburn Rovers, along with international roles with Finland, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates.

When Hodgson takes charge of Bristol City on Good Friday against Charlton Athletic, it will be his first game as manager of the Robins since April 1982 (almost 44 years), the longest-ever gap between stints with the same club in Football League history.

“No – I am too old,” said Hodgson when asked if he was interested in taking the job permanently.

Watch Roy Hodgson’s first interview as Interim Head Coach at Bristol City.

— Bristol City FC (@BristolCity) March 30, 2026

“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 who could step in and was 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.”