Roy Hodgson reveals his confidence in saving Watford from relegation

‘Like a siren call from a mermaid’: Roy Hodgson channels his inner Eric Cantona to express his confidence in his chances of saving Watford from Premier League relegation

• Watford boss Roy Hodgson is confident he can maintain his impressive record
• The new Hornets boss has never been relegated from the Premier League 
• Watford currently sit second bottom in the top-flight ahead of Burnley clash  
• The 74-year-old was sacked by the Pozzo family at Udinese back in 2001

Of all the ways Roy Hodgson could have described receiving the SOS plea from Watford at his first press conference yesterday, this line wasn’t expected: ‘Like a siren call from a mermaid as the sailor passes by on his ship.’

Hodgson is back and so are his analogies. The 74-year-old went on to talk about how he’s never been relegated from the Premier League, adding he’s dived in at the deep end and hopes he doesn’t drown.

Choppy waters is certainly where Watford find themselves. They’re 19th after winning one of their last 11 league games under Claudio Ranieri and Saturday’s trip to Burnley, the side beneath them, looks a must-win.

Newly-appointed Watford boss Roy Hodgson feels he can save the Hornets from relegation

Hodgson has never suffered relegation, although the Hornets currently sit 19th in the league

Nautical nonsense aside, Hodgson believes he can save Watford and avoid Sam Allardyce’s fate — who lost his never-before-relegated record at West Brom last year.

‘It’s more than possible,’ said Hodgson, who has previously led Fulham, West Brom and Crystal Palace to safety. ‘I wouldn’t have accepted the challenge had I not believed that we can help the club stay in the Premier League.

‘I’m quite confident in that respect that the work we do will have an effect, but of course the proof of the pudding is always in the eating. It’s important that the players react to what we’ve asked them to do.

‘Whether it’s a wise decision or a foolish one, time will tell. Why did I come back? It was an exciting offer. I wasn’t expecting any calls from Watford or anyone else. But it was a very easy job to accept.

Hodgson isn’t worried about Watford’s impulsive owners, despite being sacked by the Pozzo family at Udinese

‘It was the siren call from the mermaid as the sailor passes by on his ship. They got the right mermaid going past the right ship. It was out of the blue, but I’m glad it came because I am ready.’

Hodgson (left) says he isn’t worried about Watford’s impulsive owners, despite being sacked by the Pozzo family at Udinese in 2001. 

He described that as ‘water long under the bridge’ and accepts he’s agreed a short-term deal until the end of the season, with a clear mandate to avoid relegation.

Hodgson had no say over January transfers, saying ‘One thing I didn’t do was sit with the board and talk about the signings that need to be made. When it comes to transfers, you can strike my name off your list in terms of influencing it.’

One of Hodgson’s major challenges is to fix a defence which hasn’t kept a clean sheet all season. If he cannot do that, the man never relegated from the Premier League is bound to go down with the sinking ship.

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