MARCH 1, 2017 – The public perception of Roy Hodgson is “totally wrong” and he should be a leading contender for the Leicester job, says his former goalkeeping coach.
The Premier League champions have reportedly held talks with the 69-year-old after sacking Claudio Ranieri.
Hodgson has been out of work since resigning as England manager after they lost to Iceland at Euro 2016.
Dean Kiely, who worked under him at West Brom, said: “I can see why he’s on anyone’s shortlist.”
Hodgson, who has been managing for more than 40 years, guided Fulham to the Europa League final in 2010 and had spells in charge of Liverpool and West Brom before he got the England job in 2012.
He took the Three Lions to the quarter-finals at Euro 2012, but two years later they were eliminated at the group stage of a World Cup for the first time since 1958.
Hodgson’s team won all 10 matches in qualifying for Euro 2016 but he quit after a 2-1 defeat by Iceland in the last 16 left him with a record of three victories from 11 games in major tournaments.
Former Republic of Ireland goalkeeper Kiely told BBC Radio 5 live: “The public perception is totally wrong to how he is as a person and how the players react to him, which is only positive from my point of view.
“The end of his England reign was quite negative but shouldn’t wash away all the good work he had done in the campaign leading up to that and also his club management career, certainly at West Brom.”
Kiely said Hodgson “brought stability” when he succeeded Roberto di Matteo at The Hawthorns in February 2011.
“He was great,” said the former Charlton goalkeeper. “He just wants to be out on the training ground, with tracksuit on and coaching the players.
“I was fortunate to go in for England training when Roy invited me in. On the grass, he comes alive and the best thing for me was the players responded great to Roy.
“He’s a fantastic fella away from football also, very engaging, and the time I spent with him was excellent for me. I learned a lot.”
Ranieri was sacked last week with the Foxes just one point above the relegation zone, nine months after they had won the Premier League title.
Craig Shakespeare’s first match as caretaker manager resulted in a 3-1 victory over Liverpool on Monday.
Defender Danny Simpson said Shakespeare was a “top coach and a top guy”.
He said: “He has kept it simple and told us what he wanted to do, which was simple and basic, and we’ve done that so let’s hope we can carry it on for him.”
