He'd Taken Fulham As Far As He Could Says Club Insider

Last updated : 01 July 2010 By Paul Warburton
In fact, the man who took the club to the edge of Europa League glory was gobsmacked his overachieving team defied the odds to get to the showcase final at Hamburg in the first place.

The 62-year-old is taking over at Anfield, knowing it would take a miracle if the current Fulham squad get anywhere close to the heady heights of the last campaign.

A club insider said: "Roy told friends he thought the team were going out of the Europa Cup when they played Juventus - and even getting that far was better than he thought.

"Without heavy financial imput at Fulham - and Roy is smart enough to knows that's not practical - the club possibly faces another middling Premiership season."

For all that, Hodgson wrestled with the lure of Liverpool, knowing he faces a huge task to put trophies back in the Anfield cabinet rather than just guaranteeing Premiership survival as required of him at Fulham.

The source added: "But it's Liverpool, and Roy's as ambitious as the next manager. He thought that if he said no he probably wouldn't get a second chance. Can you blame him?"