Chelsea interim boss Roberto Di Matteo believes Roy Hodgson is the right man to lead England on a long-term basis.
Di Matteo says Hodgson is a very good manager
Chelsea interim boss Roberto Di Matteo believes Roy Hodgson is the right man to lead England on a long-term basis.
Hodgson spent four hours at Wembley on Monday in discussions with the four-man FA committee charged with finding a long-term replacement for Fabio Capello.
And Di Matteo, who has guided Chelsea to both the FA Cup final and UEFA Champions League final, is adamant that the 64-year-old is the right man to lead the national side for the future.
"The two candidates were Harry (Redknapp) and Roy who I think were two very, very good candidates for the England job, which is a difficult job for anybody that takes it," he told
Sky Sports News.
"Roy is a gentleman, a very good coach and a very good manager. I think it would be difficult for anybody but he's got all the experience that you need for the national team."
Highly rated
Asked whether he thinks Hodgson is underrated, in that he has not been given credit for his past achievements, Di Matteo said: "I think from his fellow professionals he is certainly not. Within the game he's highly rated from us. I'm not sure about public opinion, but certainly he's a fantastic manager."
The Blues boss also denied that he said Redknapp 'deserved' the job of leading the Three Lions to Euro 2012, adding: "I don't think I said that he 'deserves', but I think that the two candidates were Hodgson and Redknapp and I think the FA have gone through a process and decided for one.
"That doesn't take anything away from Harry's job he's been doing over many, many years."
