Fulham like ´any other team´ for Hodgson

Roy Hodgson says any remaining feeling for his old team will be put aside when current club Liverpool host Fulham on Saturday evening.

Hodgson left west London in the off-season for the chance to manage one of the biggest clubs in Europe and says although it was a tough decision, he felt it was the right one.

He said: “It was a bit of a wrench really to leave but a job like the one at Liverpool doesn’t come along every day and I was lucky that the people at Fulham, especially the players and the chief executives, understood that this is something that I should do and really wanted to do.”

“I don’t have any sentiment at all and I’m sorry to say that I shall probably be railing against decisions and complaining about things just as much if Fulham are the opponents as any other team for whom I’ve got no time at all.”

“Fulham are a very difficult team to beat, we have enormous respect for them but they, like ourselves, are desperate for points. I think it will be an intensive game.”

Liverpool’s away form in the English Premier League has been poor this season, with just one win on the road against Bolton.

Hodgson thinks that the team needs to build up its confidence to start getting better results away from Anfield.

He said: “The fact is that the reason teams win more matches at home than away is because they have the support of their home crowd and that home crowd has a bit of an effect on the situation.”

“I believe that to win matches either home or away you’ve got to play well and you’ve got to show a lot of character. You’ve got to show a lot of determination, all the things that we preach every week.”

On the injury front, Hodgson said that midfielder Steven Gerrard and defender Daniel Agger were progressing well but refused to give a date for their return.

“Steven Gerrard is training hard. He trains everyday. (There are) no days off for Steven – he’s desperate to get back,” Hodgson said.

“Daniel Agger, same as Steven, slightly behind perhaps but not far. I was given a prediction for him but I’m not going to tell you because it might turn out to be wrong and I’ll get the blame for it.”