Roy Hodgson insists he does not require “a crutch” after making a shock return to Bristol City aged 78 and believes he is healthier than when last coaching two years ago, when he was taken ill at Crystal Palace. The former England manager, who took training at the Championship club for the first time on Monday, has taken interim charge for the final seven games of the season.

Hodgson left Palace in February 2024, four days after collapsing at training, but was tempted out of retirement by Richard Scudamore, the former Premier League chief executive who joined City’s board last October. Hodgson was at home in Richmond, west London, when he received a message out of the blue from Scudamore, a lifelong City fan, asking if he could pick his brains.

Conversations led Hodgson to return to the club 44 years after being sacked in 1982, soon after the club avoided liquidation amid financial turmoil. “I left as a creditor,” Hodgson said. “We had to go to the bank and beg them to give us a moratorium on our mortgage because we couldn’t pay it. I do have fond memories of my time, despite the fact I should have...