Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson has said he won’t mention the word ‘retirement’ 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 guided the Eagles to safety after they were three points above the relegation zone when he took over.
“I should leave the options totally open and who knows what will happen,” Hodgson said.
“I’m not going to mention the word ‘retire’. I don’t think I did that the first time, I tried not to, but of course I assumed that when I left Crystal Palace and didn’t look for another job, I was retiring.
“But I’m definitely not going to make that mistake again, because when I went back to Watford, all of a sudden the conversation is, ‘he came out of retirement to do this’.”
Hodgson spent four years with Palace from 2017 but decided to step away from football in the summer of 2021, before being named Watford boss in January 2022 – leaving five months later after being relegated to the Championship.
Under Hodgson’s predecessor Patrick Vieira, Palace were winless in 12 matches in all competitions until he was sacked in March and Hodgson was reappointed.
But Hodgson, who has managed 22 teams in eight different countries, has not confirmed whether he will stay or leave the Eagles after this season.
“I’m enjoying life right now,” he said.
“All the time, I feel able to work. I will study the 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 soliciting them.”
His managerial career spanned over 45 years and included spells at Inter Milan, Blackburn, Fulham, Liverpool, West Brom and Palace, while he also managed the national teams of Switzerland, United Arab Emirates and Finland.
Hodgson has managed six clubs in the Premier League and already holds the record for the competition’s oldest manager.
Palace are now mathematically safe from relegation on 40 points in 12th place and host Bournemouth on Saturday.
