Roy Hodgson admits last 12 months have been strange following Liverpool exit and West Brom revival

Roy Hodgson, West Bromwich Albion (Getty Images)

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West Brom manager Roy Hodgson says the last 12 months have been “strange” following his unsuccessful reign at Liverpool and subsequent success at The Hawthorns.

Hodgson finished last season by guiding Fulham to the Europa League final before moving to Anfield, but after being sacked in January he joined struggling West Brom.

He told Yahoo!: “It has been strange. We Fulham had to go and play in the Europa League Final which we lost in extra time which was disappointing. Then there was the excitement of joining Liverpool and then losing that job early in the new year. I then bounced straight back into the Premier League again and fortunately tasted success again with West Bromwich Albion.”

The 63-year-old joined the club on February 11 with the Baggies sitting in 17th place in the Premier League, but they lost just twice under Hodgson and finished 11th.

But the former Inter coach has played down his influence in the revival, saying: “Sometimes victories and good results generate their own momentum so as a coach I am never 100 per cent sure why a team is having a good run or why a player is in a rich vein of form. You just hope that this form will continue.”

Hodgson was one of a number of high profile managers to lose their job this season, with Carlo Ancelotti’s dismissal after a final-day defeat at Everton particularly surprising to the West Brom boss.

He added: “I’m particularly saddened as a coach when you can lose your job now by finishing second in the Premier League and having had a good run in the Champions League. Call me old fashioned but I find it hard to regard finishing second in one of the top leagues in Europe as failure.”