Roy Hodgson has returned to Bristol City to manage the Robins till the end of the season after a 44-year absence, but the 78-year-old has ruled out two options since his arrival at Ashton Gate.

Bristol City have fired Austrian manager Gerhard Struber after nine months in command and replaced him with Roy Hodgson, the former Liverpool and Fulham manager returning to Ashton Gate for the first time since 1982.

Hodgson had a somewhat average playing career, but his coaching career is anything but.

He has managed 21 different clubs and international teams in his 50-year coaching career, including two stints at Inter Milan, Crystal Palace, and now Bristol City. He returns to the South-West after 44 years.

According to most criteria, Bristol City’s season has been normal, with the team on track to finish mid-table once again, with minimal risk of relegation and little possibility of making the play-offs.

Given that they finally finished in the top six last season after 17 years, this campaign will be somewhat disappointing, since they failed to build on their previous success.

Hodgson is unlikely to stay at Ashton Gate indefinitely, having already ruled himself out of two posts when he returns.

Roy Hodgson rules himself out of contention for the long-term managing and Sporting Director roles at Bristol City.

After leaving Crystal Palace in 2024, many people, including Hodgson himself, assumed that the Eagles would be his final professional football position.

However, Hodgson has demonstrated that football is in his blood, and after receiving a phone call from those in charge at the Robins, he packed his belongings for a five-week sojourn in Bristol.

Hodgson was hand-picked for the post because the Robins needed someone on a short-term basis for the remaining stretch of the season while they looked for new managers and sporting directors.

When asked if he would be interested in any of the roles on a long-term basis, the 78-year-old was defiant in his answers, saying: “No. No, I’m too old” when first asked about the managerial position, and then, “I’ve never been a Sporting Director, to be honest. I don’t even know what is really required of a Sporting Director,” when asked about that role.

Hodgson went on to clarify that he only signed on the condition that he would only be there for the next seven games, after which the club hoped to have found successors for those two vital positions.

Short Bristol City tenure will likely be Roy Hodgson’s last in professional football

Few people have spent as long in football as Hodgson.

The Englishman’s coaching career began in 1976 with Halmstad in Sweden, and he has managed in eight different nations, winning 15 major honours during that time.

While his chances of reaching 16 with Bristol City in the coming months are little to none, it’s fitting that he ends his tenure in management at the site where it all began for him in his home nation.

Expectations for the veteran when he returns to the Robins will undoubtedly be low, but fans will be hoping he can work some of his familiar magic in the final seven games of the season to help the team finish strong.

It remains to be seen whether his tenure at Ashton Gate will be his last in football, and while it is likely that it will be, you can never rule him out of returning to the sport he loves.