Roy Hodgson Says He Can Still Manage at 78 After Bristol City Spell

roy hodgson said he has proved he can still succeed as a manager at 78 after coming out of retirement for Bristol City. The interim spell ends with the Championship season's final game at home to Stoke City on Saturday, and Hodgson's own verdict is simple: the work still fits.

Hodgson's Five Weeks at Bristol City

He took charge after leaving retirement behind and guided Bristol City through five weeks that produced two wins, two draws and two defeats. That run leaves the club heading into its last league match under an interim manager who treated the job as a test of whether he could still handle the demands of day-to-day coaching.

“I was relatively happily retired before this came along,” Hodgson told Radio Bristol. He said the opportunity arrived from left field, and that he had answered one question for himself: “I proved to myself I am. There's no doubt about that.”

Age 78 And The Sideline

Hodgson was blunt about the old doubts that come with taking a job at 78. “Any fears I might have had that, 'Well, you're too old for this now, you can't get out on the field with the players, you can't do the coaching and manage the team in the way you always did.' No, that's not true, I can do,” he said.

That is the crux of his brief return. He did not just step back into a dugout; he said the five weeks showed he can still manage the same way he always did, even after retirement had already started.

There is a catch in his own assessment. Hodgson said, “On the other hand, whether I want to put myself in this position again and offer myself up for that type of employment, that's another question altogether.”

Bristol City's Next Step

For Bristol City, the broader issue sits beyond Saturday's match. Hodgson said the club should aim to become a top-six, top-eight Championship team within a couple of years, adding that once they do that they could “easily make the jump” to a higher level.

He also said he would miss the day-to-day work and the grass itself if this ends up being his last spell. “I'm really pleased with everything that's happened here, and it won't be easy for me now to wean myself off it again,” he said, leaving the final impression of a manager who has not just passed a test at 78, but still feels the pull of the job.