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Striker keen for Hodgson stay

Image: Peter Odemwingie: The striker scored a hat-trick at the weekend and wants Roy Hodgson to stay with West Brom

Peter Odemwingie insists he is desperate for manager Roy Hodgson to stay with West Brom.

Odemwingie wants manager to remain with West Brom

Peter Odemwingie insists he is desperate for manager Roy Hodgson to stay with West Brom. The Baggies boss is out of contract in the summer and has revealed that he is in no rush to discuss a new deal for next season. He will be 65 when the 2012/13 season gets under way, but is also being linked with the vacant England position. Sunday's 5-1 derby win over Wolves has lifted West Brom up to 14th in the Premier League and they are now eight points above the drop zone. Striker Odemwingie, who grabbed a hat-trick in the romp at Molineux, is pleading with the former Liverpool and Fulham manager to stay at the Hawthorns.

Big manager

He said: "Roy is a big manager and it depends on what he wants to do. "He has had success here and he has already built relationships with people in the club so he would be welcome (to stay). "We are getting to know each other and understanding each other collectively as a squad and that is important. "Everybody knows what to expect from each other and that is a big plus." Odemwingie has also denied any problems with Hodgson despite rumours of a bust-up earlier this season. Hodgson had previously stated how the club had "got nothing out of him" this season following a knee injury that staggered his start to the campaign. Since December, the Nigerian has scored five goals for West Brom with his tally reaching eight for the season. Odemwingie said: "We are fine and we always were. If we weren't, I would have been talking about leaving the club or something else. "But he told me that whatever he says can be out of frustration and not anger. "He is an experienced person and I have to respect him, my manager. "Sometimes I felt it was a bit harsh on me, and I said that to him, but he said I shouldn't take it in a bad way. "He said he was frustrated that I wasn't available (because of injury) and that was it."
Praise
Meanwhile, Hodgson has been full of praise of Odemwingie's new strike-partner Marc-Antoine Fortune. The Frenchman has made a return to the Baggies squad since the turn of the year and has scored twice. He was previously at Championship side Doncaster Rovers on loan and made five appearances whilst with the South Yorkshire outfit. Hodgson said: "He looks a different player. He continued to work hard and fight even through the lean moments where he was sometimes not even on the bench. "I've admired him for that. A little bit of confidence could be the reason for things looking up and his loan spell at Doncaster helped him a little bit as well. "All those factors play a part and against Wolves on Sunday I thought he was very good."

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