England boss Roy Hodgson faces the axe if his side flop in France at Euro 2016 tournament

Roy Hodgson must deliver at Euro 2016 or he could face the axe

ROY HODGSON'S position as England coach will become untenable if the country under-performs at Euro 2016 next summer.

 

The Football Association's new chief executive, Martin Glenn, said Hodgson would expect to lose his job in the event of England having a "bad" tournament.

Glenn pledged his support to Hodgson while revealing he met within the last fortnight to confirm no discussions on a new contract will take place until after the championships in France.

"Roy is a really good manager and he would be the last person in the world who if - and I don't think it will happen - but if we had a bad Euros, he would not expect to be kept on," said Glenn. "He is a proud man."

 

Hodgson's hopes of extending his stay as England coach now rest on his squad delivering on the big stage, although Glenn did not outline what would be perceived as a successful tournament. England did not progress from their group under Hodgson's command at the World Cup in Brazil.

The future of Hodgson became an issue before last month's World Cup draw in Russia when Glenn said "uncertainty" was beneficial to performance and that it would encourage the manager "to go the extra yard to get results."

Hodgson's understanding, based on talks with FA chairman Greg Dyke, was his position would be discussed between now and the start of the tournament.

 

FA chief executive, Martin Glenn, believes Hodgson would expect to go if England underachieved

Now the situation has become clearer.

"I have spoken to Roy," said Glenn, as the FA announced it was investing a record £260million in grassroots football over the next four years.

"The air didn't really need clearing to be honest.

"I had a cup of coffee with him which turned into a few drinks. We are all on the same page.

"It is a bit of a storm in a teacup. But I spoke to him about it - the position I thought was clear anyway - so, yes, the air has been cleared.

 

"The question is, 'How do we set Roy up to be as successful as we can in the Euros? What can we do?' And that is what we plan to do."

Asked if being "on the same page" meant no talks on a new deal until after the Euros, Glenn added: "Yes."

It is a common sense approach given the FA extended Fabio Capello's lucrative contract on the eve of the World Cup in 2010 and then saw England crash out at the first knock-out stage.

England have won six out of six matches in qualifying for the European Championships and yet, inevitably, there will now be some focus on who could replace Hodgson.

The FA are keen to appoint another Englishman which would bring U21s coach Gareth Southgate and Hodgson's assistant, Gary Neville, under scrutiny.