Hodgson reveals how he nearly became a travel agent... now he's looking forward to jetting off to Brazil.

He has had an extraordinary coaching career but as his England team finally look like they are going places, Roy Hodgson revealed he might easily have been a travel agent instead.

‘When Bobby Houghton and I started off in management in our late 20s we were going to retire at 40 and start a travel agency,’ said a smiling Hodgson as he basked in the glow of World Cup qualification.
This was from way back. He and Houghton had worked together at Maidstone United, in South Africa and at Malmo in Sweden before going their separate ways.

Other ambitions: Hodgson (centre) in his days at Bristol City in 1982 at the age of 35

Top coach: Hodgson has since managed 19 different teams over the last 37 years

‘We were young and our vision I suppose was to get to 40,’ said Hodgson. ‘We thought hopefully by then we’d have made a bit of money and would be able to set up in business together.
‘I sometimes think of it now, 26 years after my 40th birthday. I wonder what would have become of me if we had decided to fulfil our idea. I wonder where we’d be today.’
Organising travel to Brazil for next year’s World Cup, perhaps, rather than leading England into a tournament where he predicts the hosts, Argentina, Germany and Spain will be the ones to beat.
As for England’s hopes, Hodgson said: ‘I don’t imagine any of us will say it’s impossible but I must also say we are in slight transition. We have good young players coming through. We are getting better. But whether we are at the level of some other big teams, I don’t think any of us would say that.’

Three wise men: Roy Hodgson talks to coaches Gary Neville and Ray Lewington ahead of the Poland game

As the 66-year-old discussed some of those emerging talents, it was clear that he does not think it will be easy for a latecomer to break into his squad. Not that he is ruling it out, either. He never does.
West Ham midfielder Ravel  Morrison ‘interests us’, said Hodgson before noting how impressed he had been with Everton’s Ross Barkley during his training sessions with the England squad.
‘To be fair, San Marino and Lithuania Under 21s is not quite the same level as we are talking about with the first team,’ he added. Hodgson described West Bromwich striker Saido Berahino as ‘a breath of fresh air’ but not without mentioning Daniel Sturridge and Daniel Welbeck.
‘I suppose it’s going to be interesting in the next six months to see which of these Under 21 players really mount a challenge,’ he said.
Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard were picked out for specific praise. They had been ‘immense’, said Hodgson, specially in the closing stages of the qualifying campaign.

Key men: Hodgson praised Gerrard and Rooney for their performance on a memorable night at Wembley

They both scored against Poland on Tuesday. Gerrard clinched it with the second and Rooney struck first, his seventh in six qualifying games and his 10th in 13 under Hodgson.
‘His performances recently have been crowning glories,’ said the England manager of Rooney. ‘I  suppose your concern is that we’re not picking a team to play in Brazil on October 16, it will be in May. A lot of water passes under the bridge. At the moment, it is looking very good. I was delighted the two goal scorers were Rooney and Gerrard and delighted to see their pictures in the papers.
‘A lot of people have been fantastic but they are two guys who really have had to bear more responsibility than some of other guys on whom judgment would be kinder and they have really stepped up to the plate and delivered.’
Hodgson is too wise to make hasty calls. He will not choose between Leighton Baines and Ashley Cole at left back until he has to, if he has to. Who knows whether injury will strike? Nor will he rule Frank  Lampard in or out.

Elsewhere: Bobby Houghton was most recently manager of the Indian national side

Rather, he will focus on practicalities within his control: scouting and arranging the right fixtures. He plans to compare notes with England cricket director Andy Flower and Lions rugby union coach Warren Gatland and he will consider his own experiences with Switzerland at the World Cup in USA 1994.
‘It was my first tournament,’ said Hodgson. ‘I’d not been to a World Cup or a European Championship and the thing that astounded me was the amount of preparation necessary.
‘The time differences were enormous, we were playing in the middle of the day in enormous heat, all the preparation and thought that had to go into getting the players hydrated and in condition to play.
‘Then there’s the occupation of time. How can you occupy the players in a meaningful way without them a) getting bored or b) thinking we’re doing too much work. It’s an unbelievably delicate balance and there are no correct answers.

To the rescue: Hodgson after becoming England manager in May 2012

‘Don’t forget the Swiss FA had never been in the tournament. It was like the blind leading the blind.’
This time, however, will come the emotion of leading his own country to the World Cup. ‘You have the weight of your memories and the weight of your upbringing and all the people you’re anxious not to disappoint,’ said Hodgson.
Never has he felt that managing England was too much strife and he described the Wembley games against Poland and Montenegro among the top memories from his long career.
He celebrated with a bit of  mingling in the Wembley lounge and then went home to digest the result, read a few texts of congratulations and catch up on the other qualifiers before opening the pages of a new novel, Stoner, by John Williams.
He had been meaning to start it for ages, but something else had been getting in the way