Perryman backing for Hodgson

England fans' spokesman Mark Perryman has backed the appointment of Roy Hodgson as Fabio Capello's successor, but warned supporters to forget any prospect of winning a trophy for at least four years.

Hodgson is due to meet the four-man Club England board on Monday for talks over the England vacancy. It is widely anticipated Hodgson will accept the offer, which has come as a major surprise because Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp had been the overwhelming favourite.

Perryman said: "Roy Hodgson will be a steady hand on the till. He took Fulham to the Europa League final, which was a magnificent achievement and on the basis that the best three managers around just now, Marcelo Bielsa, Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho, wouldn't want the job, Hodgson is a good choice."

Whilst many have condemned the FA for ignoring Redknapp, Perryman has rubbished comparisons between him and Brian Clough, who was denied the chance to manage England as the FA feared his confrontational approach.

He added: "It is a ridiculous comparison. Harry Redknapp has been a manager for 30 years and won one FA Cup. Brian Clough won two European Cups and lots of other trophies besides. To link the two doesn't stand up at all.

"Clough was the greatest manager never to manage England. Harry is the populist choice, but so was Kevin Keegan and what an unmitigated disaster that turned out to be."

However, Perryman concedes a Hodgson appointment would lower expectations around the Three Lions.

"There is no doubt the general public will expect less of a Hodgson-managed team than one Redknapp was in charge of," he said. "But is that necessarily a bad thing? I don't think so. Expectations around the England team have been way too high since 1966.

"People have spoken about Euro 2012 being a push towards making a big impact towards the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Trust me, there is absolutely no way we are going to win that. It is just not going to happen.

"What we should be aiming for are the next European Championships in France."