Football: ‘I have not shied away from media’

LONDON: The new England football manager Roy Hodgson said he probably needs to grow a thicker skin to cope with the abuse and vitriol England’s tabloid press are likely to throw at him in his new job. The 64-year-old was confirmed in the role on Tuesday, and The Sun mocked his slight speech impediment in a front-page story the following day, while other newspapers reported erroneously that Germans had never heard of him. “Maybe I should develop one,” Hodgson replied to the reporters who asked if he had a thick skin. “I’m a football coach. That’s been the whole of my life. Dealing with the mass media has been a part of that. I have not shied away from it and it hasn’t bothered me.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 7^th, 2012.