Roy Hodgson endorses Gareth Southgate appointment

Former England manager Roy Hodgson has backed the decision to name Gareth Southgate as the new boss of the national team.

Southgate was confirmed as England's manager on a four-year contract last week having spent four matches in temporary charge following the short-lived reign of Sam Allardyce.

Hodgson, whose own spell ended after a shock 2-1 defeat to Iceland at Euro 2016 this summer, believes that the team still has a lot of potential and hopes that Southgate will help them to reach a new level.

"I endorse the appointment the same way as everyone else has. It's great that he comes into the job with such a positive perception of him as a person, him as a coach, and his experience of the FA and what he's capable of doing," he told Sky Sports News.

"I think the team's very good, I think we have good players, I think they know what they're doing. I think that they're dangerous going forward, there's a lot of players who are very dangerous, who can cause all opposition problems, but most important of all they are strong defensively, they get back quickly, they have the five-yard furies, they win the ball back quickly in the Barcelona manner.

"These are all things I think which make for a good football team. If Gareth, as I believe has happened so far, can keep a good atmosphere, can keep the players wanting to play for England, wanting to continue to improve, I can only see a very positive future."

Hodgson also outlined his desire to return to management at the age of 69.