Roy Hodgson was appointed as coach of England football team

England's national soccer team is back in the hands of an Englishman — although one who spent the biggest part of his coaching career abroad.

Roy Hodgson was hired Tuesday to coach England and end its 46-year title drought, with the Football Association hoping his international experience and homegrown heritage will be a perfect mix.

Hodgson is one of the best-traveled coaches England has produced, having spent the bulk of his career in obscurity honing the technical expertise that earned him a four-year deal.

The avuncular 64-year-old Londoner is the oldest manager to be handed the pressure-packed role often dubbed "the Impossible Job," where expectations usually exceed reality.

 But there is no time for Hodgson to relax in his new Wembley office, having to pick a European Championship squad within two weeks. England then has two exhibitions before the first Euro 2012 match against France on June 11.

Roy Hodgson

"England always have to go in tournaments to win them because we are a major football nation," Hodgson said after agreeing to leave West Bromwich Albion later this month. "I certainly think the players would be very disappointed if we expected anything less of them than to win the tournament." "It certainly brings with it a lot of scrutiny and criticism and I have to be prepared for that," he said. "It's always a big job to win people over. I'm prepared for criticism."

The criticism spilled out as soon as the FA announced on Sunday that Hodgson had been approached, overlooking Harry Redknapp, the clear favorite among fans and key players whose Tottenham side is fourth in the Premier League while West Brom is mid-standings.

"The only way you can win people over is by doing the job I am confident I can do," Hodgson said. "It's always very important the whole country buys into what we do. I'm expecting a lot of support from everybody."

FA chairman David Bernstein said the organization decided about a month ago to hire Hodgson because of his "experience, track record and ability at building winning teams."

As well as coaching national teams of Switzerland, Finland and the United Arab Emirates, Hodgson has had stints in club soccer in England, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Switzerland and Italy, where he was twice in charge of Inter Milan.

While recognizing the need to instill confidence in his England players ahead of Euro 2012, Hodgson accepted it would be "difficult" for the team to be successful at the Euros in Poland and Ukraine because he is coming in at such at late stage. Being appointed England manager might have seemed unthinkable at the start of 2011 for Hodgson when he was fired after just six stormy months in charge of Liverpool that blemished his rebuilt reputation at West Brom.

"Liverpool is a chapter in the past I am very much looking forward ... a lot has happened since that time," Hodgson said.

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, a contender to skipper the national team, was one of the first England players to congratulate Hodgson on Tuesday.

"I've worked with Roy. He's a good man and a good manager," the midfielder said. "It's important he's given a chance and I'm looking forward to working with him again."

England has an exhibition against Norway in Oslo on May 26 and a home match against Belgium a week later before a 23-man squad heads to the Euro 2012 base in Krakow, Poland.

England's group stage opener is against France on June 11 in Donetsk, Ukraine, followed by matches against Sweden and Ukraine.