Roy Hodgson explains his viral sunglasses photo amid perfect Championship record

Roy Hodgson is the only Championship manager with a perfect winning record since he joined Bristol City ahead of their trip to QPR on Saturday.

But the 78-year-old insisted to talkSPORT that it is not the reason he’s been mistaken for performing the Sunglasses Deal With It meme.

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In fact, Hodgson revealed the shades he’s been spotted donning on the touchline since his return are driving rather than the hot weather.

Roy Hodgson explains his sunglasses photo

The ex-England manager told Ally McCoist and Gabby Agbonlahor: “They’re not sunglasses, actually, they’re long-distance glasses.

“I have them for driving, and luckily, they change according to the weather. So if the sun sort of starts to come out, they go a bit darker.

“So I wasn’t aware of that. I knew that was what they were bought for, but I’ve never seen them in action!”

Aply, Hodgson himself has proven to be a shining light for Bristol City – but reiterated that he has no plans to take the job permanently.

The Robins unveiled the veteran head coach on an interim basis last month following the decision to part ways with Gerhard Struber.

The Englishman had a brief spell as manager of Bristol City in 1982 – 44 years ago – but had been retired since February 2024.

And Hodgson admitted that he didn’t expect to find himself back in management either after calling time on his half-century career.

“I also didn’t think that you were talking to someone who had launched himself back into work like I’d done,” He added.

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Hodgson didn’t expect to come back into management

“It would take far too long, and it would be a whole programme perhaps to analyse my decision and to analyse my state of mind when I accepted the invitation,” the former Three Lions head coach continued.

“But I did it, and so far so good in the sense that it has been enjoyable to be back for the last week or seven or eight days and get back onto the grass and be in a footballing environment with football players and coaches and all the people that I’ve always loved working with. So I have enjoyed that.

“But having said that, it’s been quite a test as well of both my mental and physical capacity because I seem to have been living on paracetamol for the last eight days.”

Bristol City are within seven points of the top six following successive victories over Charlton Athletic and Sheffield United.

However, Hodgson claimed it has not been as straightforward as things appear from the outside with the way football has changed.

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Hodgson told talkSPORT: “You will agree with me that football has changed, the styles change. But I think what has changed most of all is how players are looked after, how they’re treated, how much more physically adept they are now than perhaps they were in the past, because, you know, the medical and the sports science side of the game has blossomed to an incredible extent.

“Then, of course, the pitches, the balls we play with, the rules, to some extent, have helped a little bit, especially in terms of playing football, because, you know, the tackles from before got outlawed many years ago.

“So I think a lot has gone on in the game to make it a better game and a better prospect. It’s faster.

“Players are quicker and stronger physically. But otherwise, I don’t know that the basics have changed.

“Good players are always good players, and it’s still about having enough skill, attacking-wise, to create goal chances and take them.

“Defending is always going to be about knowing where you should be, having a good shape and being able to defend the ball when it comes into your area.”