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Your support makes all the difference.Roy Hodgson announced his first appointment to the England backroom staff last night with the arrival of Ray Lewington, currently the first-team coach at Fulham, who will work with the team just for the European Championships this summer.
As reported in The Independent yesterday, Hodgson has decided that he does not want Stuart Pearce as part of the England senior team set-up and has told the 50-year-old to concentrate on his duties as Under-21s coach and the manager of Team GB at the London Olympics in July.
Lewington, 55, has managed at Fulham in the past, a four-year period in the late Eighties when the club were in the old Third Division, as well as Brentford (2001) and Watford (2002-05), and a caretaker spell at Crystal Palace. He is not thought to be the only member of staff whom Hodgson will appoint for the summer with another younger figure likely to come in – one whom the new England manager has not worked with before
Hodgson said yesterday in a statement on the Football Association's website: "I'm delighted that Fulham have agreed to Ray joining the England coaching staff for the summer. I know Ray well and enjoyed working with him at Craven Cottage.
"He's a very good coach and the players will I'm sure enjoy working with him," Hodgson added. "We're currently finalising the rest of the coaching staff but it's great to have Ray confirmed.
"I'd like to thank Fulham for agreeing to this."
It does not appear that Lewington will be a permanent addition to Hodgson's staff. The FA announced that he will return to Fulham at the start of next season. In the past, Hodgson has often worked with the staff that pre-existed him at new clubs or national associations.
The Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard became the latest England player to discuss Hodgson's appointment ahead of his uncle, Harry Redknapp. Lampard said: "It's a very good appointment. He is a very experienced manager – with international experience and club football experience.
"He seems a very educated man and completely fits the role very well. Ideally if I put in the good performances before the end of the season and be involved in the squad then he would be the sort of manager you would love to work with."
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