England's new coach Hodgson admits it's not easy

The West Bromwich Albion boss emerged as the surprise front-runner for the England job on Sunday as the FA confirmed it had ignored the popular clamour for Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp to be picked..

England's new coach Roy Hodgson

"It is a very proud day for me. I'm a very happy man to be offered the chance to manage my country," Hodgson told reporters at a Wembley press conference.

"I'm looking forward to the task ahead. Everyone knows it is not an easy one but I'm hoping that everyone, fans and supporters will get behind the team. It's the team that counts, they go out and win football matches.

I'll try to make sure the team is well prepared for the challenge ahead. I'm really looking forward to it."u00a0Since Italian coach Fabio Capello resigned as England manager in February, in protest at the FA's decision to strip John Terry of the England captaincy, Stuart Pearce has been in caretaker charge of the national side.

Hodgson's first game in charge will be a warm-up match away to Norway in Oslo on May 26. That is followed by another friendly, with Belgium at Wembley on June 2, before their Euro 2012 opener.u00a0