Taylor backs Hodgson

Graham Taylor has backed Roy Hodgson to continue as England manager beyond Euro 2016. England suffered their fastest ever World Cup exit under Hodgson last summer, but the 67-year-old has overseen an impressive revival over the last 10 months.The Three Lions have won seven of their eight matches since the tournament in Brazil and if they avoid defeat in their upcoming games against Republic of Ireland and Slovenia, they will end the season unbeaten for the first time since Taylor's first season at the helm 24 years ago.Taylor was sacked just three years into his reign and he believes England managers need more time to stamp their authority on a team.For that reason, the 70-year-old sees no reason why Hodgson should not be allowed to remain in charge - provided England do not flop at next summer's European Championship."Roy will be in charge for the next tournament so a lot will depend on what happens in that tournament," said Taylor, a Football Foundation ambassador who was speaking at the opening of a new 3G pitch in Belper, Derbyshire."He would be four years in then and I wouldn't go against him staying in charge because I don't care what anyone says, it takes time to build a team and if you can see something developing, don't mess it up, just leave it as it is."England's failure to qualify for USA '94 cost Taylor his job, but Hodgson has enjoyed an exemplary run through qualifying for the Euros.A week after Sunday's friendly in the Republic of Ireland, England can move nine points clear at the top of Group E if they beat Slovenia a week on Sunday.Other than Slovakia, no team has won all of their opening five qualifiers.Taylor has been impressed by their performances since the World Cup and believes a number of the younger uncapped players can step up to senior level after the European Under-21 Championship this month.Taylor also believes Hodgson has a lot of public support behind him despite England's poor showing in Brazil last summer."There was nothing (bad)," Taylor said, reflecting on the fans' reaction to England's early World Cup exit."If we went back to Bobby Robson's time, my time, or Terry Venables' time, there would have been an outbreak so at least Roy has calmed that down."I think that Roy has been doing a good job. He has done very well.":: Graham Taylor was speaking at the opening of a new third generation (3G) artificial grass pitch (AGP) at the Belper Leisure Centre, Derbyshire. The pitch was made possible thanks to a £207,221 grant from the Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund, which is delivered by the Football Foundation.

Source: PA