Bristol Live brings you a transcript of Roy Hodgson’s final press conference as Bristol City’s interim boss after the Reds’ win over Stoke City
Roy Hodgson speaks during a Bristol City press conference at Ashton Gate(Image: Jacob King/PA Wire)
After nine months and 49 matches of football, Bristol City’s season is over. The Robins’ final game of the campaign saw Roy Hodgson bow out as interim head coach on a positive note as his side got the better of Stoke City at Ashton Gate.
In what, at times, looked every bit a final day of the campaign clash between two sides whose destinies had been decided weeks prior, the Reds were able to produce the two moments of quality needed to claim all three points on their own patch.
With a minute of kick-off, Delano Burgzorg had stroked home the opener to start the celebrations in and around BS3. The Middlesbrough loanee was ‘Johnny on the Spot’ to tap home his first in red and white when Viktor Johansson botched what was a routine pass.
For much of the next hour and a half, opportunities for both sides were few and far between. Both the Potters and the Robins struck the woodwork, but were unable to force many saves of note until Sam Bell ensured all three points would remain in the West Country with his fifth Championship goal of the term, two minutes from time.
With the win over Mark Robins’ side, Hodgson finishes his spell with a record of three wins, two draws and two losses from seven games. That run, partnered with the work of Gerhard Struber before, has proven enough for City to end the term 12th in the Championship.
In the coming days, the 78-year-old will head back into retirement. Before then, however, here is a transcript of everything Hodgson said to the print media after the full-time whistle against Stoke…
OPINION
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The obvious question, Roy, have we seen the end of an era today, or might there be another chapter in the Roy Hodgson coaching story?
I don’t know, of course. I’m not looking for that. I didn’t look for this; it came my way, I’m glad it did, and I’ve enjoyed it. I should go back now to where I was. I think I would say that it’s unlikely that something like this would come my way again, something which comes up, and someone says, ‘We need you to do it,’ and I think, ‘Okay, yeah, I can do it, and I’m available to do it.’
But it’s a long shot, and, you know, I’m certainly not going to be putting myself out there, putting my name out there to do that, because there are lots of coaches, lots of managers around who need jobs, and the game’s been very, very kind to me. It’s given me a lot of good jobs, a lot of good work, so I don’t need the work anymore.
If it is the last game, it’s great to go out on a win. How pleased were you with the team today?
Funnily enough, I didn’t think it was one of our better performances, if I’m perfectly honest. I think probably that a bit of the nervousness and the desire to finish well rubbed off on us all in a way. But there were some very good qualities to the team.
I’ve seen us pass the ball better and control games better in some of these previous ones when we’ve actually been very good at doing that at times. Today was less of that, and we were put under pressure by the very talented wingers Stoke have got and the number of crosses they get into the box.
I can’t fault the attitude, the desire, the discipline and the willingness of all the players to do what was necessary to get us a result. I couldn’t be happier. Sometimes getting a victory like this is more satisfying than one where it has been fairly easy because you’ve dominated the game from start to finish.
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Delano Burgzorg gets a goal on his first start at Ashton Gate. The way you’ve handled him, Roy, and the other strikers suggests you rate him pretty highly. Do you see his future here?
I can’t say. I’m really not prepared or able to answer any questions about players that I’ve worked with here, because I’ve got no idea what the club’s plans are and no idea who they intend to bring in to replace me. So, really, I think you’d have to give that question to whoever takes my seat here.
It’s fair to say you’ve been pleased with what you’ve seen from him?
Yeah, he’s done well. He’s had one outstanding performance at Southampton, where he was arguably our best player. Then the last two, he’s done a good job without being able to hit those heights. But to hit the heights as a forward, you also need help from the people around you to provide the service.
So, I think he must be very satisfied that after a pretty dismal time, since he’s been here, he’s finished on a high, and I think that will serve him in good stead as he moves forward when he goes back to Middlesbrough, or if he doesn’t stay there, wherever he ends up.
Middlesbrough loanee Delano Burgzorg celebrates after scoring for Bristol City at Ashton Gate(Image: Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)
Can you just tell us finally a bit about next week and what it holds? I’m sure fans are interested in knowing what influence you may have on your successor, and what influence you might have on recruitment in the summer. Is it a case that you’ll be leaving quickly?
No, I’m not leaving quickly. I have a meeting on Tuesday with Charlie, who wants to sort of review the period of time I’ve spent at the club, so I’m pretty sure he’ll have some of the sort of questions that you’re talking about. I will then go back to London at some stage after that, fairly shortly after that, probably, because Charlie’s made it clear he wants me to meet Maggie and Steve Lansdown, who weren’t here today.
They couldn’t be here this week. So that would mean we have to come back when they’re here to speak to them, as well. So I’ll have a separate meeting with him. I know about those two meetings. Whether Charlie’s got any other ideas on meetings, I don’t know. I’ll listen, and I’ve said to him, I’m available, I’ll make myself available, to do what you think needs to be done, where I can be of any assistance.
Have you been able to develop firm ideas over this short time about what Bristol City need for the future, and do you see a bright future?
I see a bright future, but it’s not for me to decide what Bristol City needs, because there you’re asking about players and recruitment. These are questions that I’m happy to leave to the sporting director and Charlie to find the man and develop a policy.
Then, if someone comes to me and says, ‘Well, what was your opinion?’ of course, I’ll give it, but it risks being quite positive, because I’ve come in here at a fairly difficult time for the club and it’s gone pretty well. 11 points from seven games in this league is not bad. If you get 11 points every seven games, you’ll be right up at the top.
So, it’s likely that when they come to me and say, ‘What do you think about X, Y, and Z?’ I’m probably going to be more positive than they may be just watching from the sidelines.
Interim Bristol City boss, Roy Hodgson, at Ashton Gate(Image: Photo by Simon Galloway/Getty Images)
From what you’re saying, no decision has been taken over your successor yet. You see all these names linked.
I have no idea. I have no idea. I’ve not had one talk with Charlie or anybody about the successor. Basically, they have given me the authority, the responsibility, they’ve given me the confidence, to run the team, to do the coaching of the team, to pick the team and decide the tactics.
They’ve given that 100 per cent to me; no one has ever made a comment about that at all. I, similarly, have left them to do their job, which is behind the scenes, without me poking my nose into it.
But if they ask you, you’ll give your opinion?
Probably, yeah.
Roy, when you sat in that seat five weeks ago, you said you’d be satisfied if you won more games than you lost. How satisfied are you with the work you’ve done here?
I’m very satisfied. I think 11 points from seven games, four of which have been away from home, and against teams of very good quality [is a good return]. Stoke at the start of the season were racing, Southampton was a tough one, Birmingham have been going quite well in recent weeks, QPR, Charlton, Sheffield United; there’s been no games really where we’ve been handed, if you like, a team which has been struggling or coming to the end of a season in a bad way.
We’ve had to fight and work hard against similar quality teams the whole way through. To take 11 points from that, especially with only three games being here, I think we can be more than satisfied.
Bristol City’s interim head coach, Roy Hodgson, applauds the travelling Robins support(Image: Photo by Jasper Wax/Getty Images)
Can I ask you about your goalkeeper? Picking up all three player of the season awards, Radek Vitek has had some campaign.
He’s been very, very good since I’ve been here, so I can fully understand it. If he’s been anywhere near as good as that in the games before, then Bristol City owe him a big debt, because being able to keep clean sheets has not been totally, because we’ve dominated the games, and not allowed any chances to come the opponent’s way, or any crosses and corners to get into the box. We have allowed that, unfortunately, and he’s been a trooper in making certain that they haven’t had a simple tap into the goal.
Well, the back four deserve a great deal of credit and seeing Rob Dickie play like today, I think people like Noah Eile and Neto Borges deserve an enormous amount of credit, too, because we’ve done it without Dickie, basically.
We’ve done it without Rob Atkinson, and we’ve done it without Luke McNally; three out-and-out quality centre backs. If you say, well, next year, they’re all coming back, well, happy days for Bristol City football club.
When I asked you at Charlton if you could be proud of your return, you suggested you don’t like managers to voice their pride, but that reception you got at the end with the cap, can you enjoy that?
Of course. Everyone likes to get a pat on the back. Everyone likes to hear a kind word, everyone likes to receive praise, and I’m no different. It’s much nicer than having people boo you off the field or accost you on the street to tell you that they don’t think you’re any good. It’s nice when it’s the other way around.
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You mentioned when you were appointed that you hadn’t kept much of an eye on the Championship or Bristol City. Will you be back at Ashton Gate?
Well, I’m going to be coming back, I’m sure, at some stage to meet Steve and Maggie. I don’t know if that’ll be here or somewhere else. I’m pretty certain, too, that if I’m invited next year to come back to a game, I’ll be more than happy to do so.
It’s probably a little bit early in the day to be asking that question. Let me just enjoy it. The one thing about football, and I say it to the players all the time, you’ve got to enjoy victories. You’ve got to enjoy that one. Don’t let anyone take away the satisfaction, the joy you feel directly after a good result and a victory, because you’re going need to weigh it up against the times when you’re really, really disappointed, you’re a little bit down, as we were, when we played Norwich City here and as we were, Birmingham, where we thought we deserved more than a 2-1 defeat.
Those moments you’ve got to live with too, so when the other one’s are there, enjoy it and don’t think too much about, well, we might not win the next one, or it might be harder next week. Forget that, enjoy the victory, and then start preparing for the next one.
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