The shock of losing Roy

If Roy Hodgson’s appointment as England manager came as a surprise to many people, then imagine how shocked we were at West Brom.

Once Fabio Capello had left, Roy had been talked about in the media as a potential next manager but Harry Redknapp, it was well documented, was the bookies’ favourite and the fans’ favourite. So when the news broke early this week that Roy was set to be announced as the new man in charge, it really did come out of the blue.

It was very strange. I was at home having a bite to eat and suddenly I got a text from the club — an hour or so before the news was made public — letting us players know that the story was about to break. I had to look at the text a few times, trying to work out were there going to be other people interviewed for the job. But it quickly became apparent that he was the FA’s first and only choice. And then all the players were texting each other back and forth. The tone was one of dismay. “Can’t believe it” was the general verdict.