ROY HODGSON might not have seemed like the ideal candidate to be Liverpool manager a year ago.

But when you consider the current plight the club finds itself in, he fits the bill perfectly.

This appointment is not about scouring the continent for a bright, emerging coach, as was the case when Liverpool chased down Rafael Benitez when they were last in the hunt for a manager.

This is about taking someone who isn’t afraid of a challenge and has a proven record of turning round a club’s fortunes.

He’s seen it all before. He’s gone to a place like Inter Milan and changed the whole make-up of the side. He could still be there now, in a behind-the-scenes role taking it easy – but he wants more of a test than that.

He’s dealt with big name foreign players and managed on the international stage.

And, most importantly, he proved in his time at Fulham that he can take a set of players and make them better.

That could be vital at Liverpool because, as good as I think the appointment is, I don’t think he holds the key to persuading the top players to stay.

If a player wants to leave a club, he can be told a new manager’s plans, he can have the vision sold to him, but it’s unlikely to change his mind.

But I genuinely feel Hodgson wouldn’t be fazed by this.