Favourite time with England was under Hodgson - Rooney

Image caption,

Roy Hodgson won 33 of his 56 games in charge of England

Wayne Rooney says his favourite period playing for England was under former boss Roy Hodgson, who has just returned to management in a caretaker role at Bristol City.

The 78-year-old spent four years as England manager between 2012 and 2016 and handed Rooney the captaincy in 2014 following Steven Gerrard’s retirement from international football.

Speaking before his appointment with Bristol City this week, Hodgson sat down with his former England striker to discuss their time with the Three Lions.

"My best period from an individual basis with England was under Roy," Rooney said in the latest episode of BBC Sport's The Wayne Rooney Show.

"I thought he'd be quiet and then it might have been the first game or a half-time where he snapped and it took me back a little bit.

"But my favourite period of playing for England was under Roy and I think because we had a trust as well with each other."

Hodgson began his managerial career with Swedish team Halmstad in 1976 and has held roles with Switzerland, Inter Milan and Liverpool among others over the past 50 years.

His time with England ended in 2016 after a disappointing exit from the European Championship, losing to Iceland in the last 16.

"It was a really bad moment," Hodgson said.

"It's extremely difficult because I had a quite strong belief that we would do well and I thought we would beat Iceland.

"I think the team in 2016 had the potential to do what the England team is doing now because there was a lot of young players coming through and you could see the potential of the young players."

Hodgson told the media that he was resigning in the post-match news conference.

"I remember seeing the disappointment in Roy and I think we knew then that that was going to be the end of him," Rooney said.

"I was also starting to think potentially this is the end of my own career as well.

"I think that moment in that dressing room after the game was the worst I've ever felt."

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