Roy Hodgson warns football stars like Wayne Rooney have ‘no magic wand’

LONDON – Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson believes leading former players such as Wayne Rooney often face “unrealistic” expectations when they become managers.

Former England captain Rooney, who played under Hodgson when the now 76-year-old was managing the national side, found himself out of a job on Jan 2 when sacked as manager of second-tier Birmingham after just 83 days in charge.

The former Manchester United striker said he did not “believe 13 weeks was sufficient to oversee the changes that were needed”.

Birmingham were sixth in the Championship, the division below the lucrative Premier League, when Rooney replaced the far lower profile John Eustace as manager.

Rooney, now 38, oversaw just two wins in 15 matches, however, with the 3-0 thumping by Leeds on Jan 1, Birmingham’s ninth defeat under him, proving the final straw.

The Midlands club – who have American football great Tom Brady as a minority shareholder – are embroiled in a battle against relegation, slumping to 20th of 24 teams since Rooney took over.

Many leading players have struggled as managers, with Rooney’s former England teammates Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard enjoying nothing like the success of their playing days during their second career in the English game.

Hodgson, who himself returned for a second spell at Palace following France great Patrick Vieira’s sacking last March, said: “It’s perhaps more a question of the climate people work in these days.

“Sometimes the bigger-name players won’t be given a chance at a top club or a club in an elevated position... in particular Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard even more than Wayne.

“Unfortunately the way the climate is these days is that the judgment on them will come very, very quickly and will be quite severe.”

Hodgson, who in common with a number of managers had a modest playing career, added that much of the blame lay with owners looking for a quick fix.

“They’ll be welcomed into the club because of their name and they’ll be expected because they are Steven Gerrard and because they are Frank Lampard.

“Suddenly you’re going to come in and the team that you’re going to be taking over, which hasn’t been doing brilliantly, is suddenly going to fly because you’re here.

“That’s unrealistic. They’ve got a point when they say, ‘I didn’t really get a chance. No one gave me two years. I didn’t get three or four transfer windows, I didn’t get a chance to really decide when I took over the group of players’.

“Let’s get Rooney, let’s get Lampard, let’s get Gerrard, and there’s no change?

“Well, that’s where the dream, the myth, is quite often proliferated, that a manager has some sort of magic wand and he will wave that wand and the team that has been doing badly will now do well, because he is there.”

Hodgson, whose side faced Premier League rivals Everton in the FA Cup third round on Jan 4, added: “Sometimes it works, but it is by no means a certainty.” AFP