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Hodgson has officiated 389 Premier League games
Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson says he will not mention the word ‘retire’ when discussing his next steps in football.
The 75-year-old former England manager returned to Selhurst Park in March for a second spell on a contract running until the end of the season.
He has now brought the Eagles to safety after they were three points above the relegation zone when he took office.
“I should leave the options completely open and who knows what will happen,” Hodgson said.
“I won’t mention the word ‘resign.’ I don’t think I did it the first time, I tried not to but of course when I left Crystal Palace I assumed it and didn’t look for another job, I was retiring .
“But there’s no way I’m going to make that mistake again because when I came back to Watford it was like, ‘He came out of retirement to do this’.”
Hodgson spent four years at Palace from 2017 but decided to retire from football in the summer of 2021 before being appointed Watford manager in January 2022 – and left five months later after they were relegated to the Championship.
Under Hodgson’s predecessor, Patrick Vieira, Palace went 12 games without a win in all competitions until March when he was sacked and Hodgson reinstated.
But Hodgson, who has managed 22 teams in eight different countries, has not confirmed whether he will remain with the Eagles or leave after this season.
“I’m enjoying life in the moment,” he said.
“I feel able to work at any time. I will consider offers that come my way.”
“But I don’t have an agent actively looking for work for me, so people have to find me because I’m not actively recruiting them.”
His managerial career spans more than 45 years and has included spells at Inter Milan, Blackburn, Fulham, Liverpool, West Brom and Palace, while also managing the national teams of Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates and Finland.
Hodgson has managed six clubs in the Premier League and already holds the record as the oldest manager in the competition.
Palace are now 12th on 40 points and hosts Bournemouth are mathematically safe from relegation on Saturday.
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