CHANTILLY, France (AP) – Roy Hodgson faced the music on Tuesday for England’s shock loss to Iceland at the European Championship, reluctantly appearing at a news conference to show that he wasn’t afraid of the wave of criticism directed at the now ex-manager of England and the team.
“I don’t really know what I’m doing here,” Hodgson said at a news conference called by England’s Football Association. “But I was told that it was important for everybody that I appear and I guess that is partly because people are still smarting from our poor performance.”
“I suppose someone has to stand and take the slings and arrows,” he added.
While all critics agreed that England played appallingly in the 2-1 loss to an island nation of some 330,000 people, they disagreed on just how badly it ranked in England’s sorry history of underperforming at major tournaments. For some, it was the worst defeat ever. For others, just the worst in a generation.
“I’m very fragile today. It wasn’t a good night, for anyone,” Hodgson said.