Steven Gerrard Does U-Turn and Welcomes Hodgson to England Post

Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard has given England boss Roy Hodgson a warm welcome. The veteran midfielder worked with Hodgson during the latter's brief and widely criticised time at Anfield and was, reportedly, unhappy with his work at the time.

Apparently Gerrard was less than impressed with the 64 year old's tactics and game plans and also fully blamed Hodgson for the club's poor performance during the time and reportedly, along with senior officials, played a major role in the West Brom manager's sacking, only six months into his time in Liverpool.

However, when Hodgson was officially announced as the England manager, Gerrard welcomed the decision, saying he deserved the position.

"I've worked with Roy. He's a good man and a good manager. It's important he's given a chance and I'm looking forward to working with him again," ESPN quoted Gerrard as saying.

Meanwhile, after being announced as the boss, Hodgson was asked if he would ask Gerrard to take up the role of captain, following Chelsea defender John Terry's unceremonious dumping, following his alleged racial abuse of QPR defender Anton Ferdinand. Hodgson was noncommittal on the matter.

"Will Gerrard be England captain? That's another thing that will have to be carefully thought out. It's one of the things that will occupy my time in the days ahead," Sky Sports quoted Hodgson as saying.

A number of English internationals apart from Gerrard, including injured Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere and Manchester City's Gareth Barry welcomed and congratulated Hodgson.

"Not many have the experience that Roy Hodgson has, [he's] proved he is a top manager at international level so I don't see any reason why he can't do it for England... good choice in my opinion! Good luck and I hope I can help him in some way in the future!" Wilshere posted on Twitter

Barry said he was pleased with the FA's decision to choose Hodgson over Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp, who was widely regarded as the favourite for the job.

"Such a big thing was made about Harry, everyone else was forgotten. There probably were two runners, Harry and Roy. Roy was probably overlooked by the media but they've gone with him and let's see what happens," said Barry, according to a BBC report.