Liverpool owners have already begun search for Hodsgon's permanent replacement
Roy Hodgson last night edged closer to the Anfield exit as the club's American owners began the search for his successor.
Hodgson is on the brink going into today's clash with Bolton and John W Henry and Tom Werner want to have a replacement lined up if they decide to wield the axe.
They are reluctant to name a caretaker boss, such as the Kop's hero Kenny Dalglish, and would prefer to make a permanent appointment.
Henry and Werner want a young, dynamic manager and have started drawing up their shortlist, which is believed to include Owen Coyle, Frank Rijkaard, Borussia Dortmund's Jurgen Klopp and Porto boss Andre Villa Boas.
As they launched their search, the beleaguered Hodgson apologised to Liverpool fans for his attack on the Kop.
Henry and Werner were unimpressed by Hodgson's dig at the supporters for turning on him during the defeat to Wolves and the Reds boss has been shocked by the backlash against him.
Hodgson cut a contrite figure yesterday as he insisted he had not meant to offend anyone with his jibes that the "famous Anfield support hasn't really been there" and that "fans should be supporters".
He said: "I'm disappointed with that and I certainly regret if I have offended them in any way. It was no way meant to be an offensive comment on my part. In fact, it was a purely defensive comment.
"I'm fully aware that to get the best out of that support, you have to give them something to look forward to supporting and we certainly didn't do that on Wednesday night. I would have been very surprised if the reaction had been any different to what it was.
"I hope there is no backlash against me because I didn't set out to attack the fans. I had to answer the question about how I felt about being the butt of their jeers and whilst empathising with them, I also tried to defend my position."
Hodgson will discover at 3pm today if the Kop have accepted his apology when he walks out for Liverpool's showdown with Bolton and he insists he can win the fans over.
"Everything is retrievable if the team plays well," he said. "That's the bottom line.
"Fans want to see their team win and we've got to start winning. We've got to start playing well again and if we do, I'm sure the fans will be happy with what they see."
Despite being on the brink at Liverpool, Hodgson accepts the intense pressure and claims the club's success is more important than his future.
"It's my job to get on with it and do my best possible not to allow individual or personal matters, like my own future, to get in the way of what is most important," he said. "And that is Liverpool winning football matches."
http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Liverpool-owners-have-already-begun-search-for-Roy-Hodsgon-permanent-replacement-article661047.html紅軍班主確定新領隊人選
鶴臣處於離開晏菲路的邊緣...
香港時間1月1日淩晨，據《每日鏡報》透露，原本鶴臣12月30日晚便可能被炒，利物浦班主已開始尋找他的接班人。
利物浦新班主亨利已決定換帥，但局限於新領隊人選目前只有馬賽領隊迪甘斯、波圖教頭波亞斯、保頓領隊奧雲高利及前巴塞隆拿領隊列卡特，不過仍未確定最終人選，鶴臣強調，他絕對不會辭職。
在率領紅軍創下一系列糟糕的羞辱紀錄後，鶴臣的聯賽勝率更是只有33.3%，比紅軍118年歷史上任何一名領隊包括代理領隊都差，但鶴臣仍不願意就此放棄：「我花了很長時間才得到這份工作，執教世界上最好的球隊之一，我非常高興能夠得到這份工作，我為此放棄了另一份很好的工作（富咸），因此我最不願意做的就是離開像這樣一間球會或者退休。」
鶴臣希望新班主能夠給他更多耐心和時間：「我只能祈求更多的耐心和時間，我們需要這些才能扭轉局勢，特別是考慮到我們開局如此困難的情況下，我有信心只要有時間和耐心，以我們擁有的球員，還有將來轉會市場買來的外援，紅軍會重新成為頂級強隊。」
對於紅軍主場爆冷輸給狼隊的比賽，鶴臣因為球迷的喝倒彩而出言挖苦，亨利和沃納無動於衷，而霍帥對此感到震驚。
