Newly appointed England football manager Roy Hodgson (R) shakes hands with FA chairman David Bernstein after a news conference at the Wembley Stadium in London, Britain, May 1, 2012. Hodgson was appointed as England football manager on a four-year contract Tuesday. [Xinhua]

Roy Hodgson was hired as England's national team coach yesterday, six weeks before the European Championship.

The Football Association said the 64-year-old West Bromwich Albion manager signed a four-year deal.

He will leave West Brom at the end of the season on May 13 to lead England into the Euros in Poland and Ukraine.

Hodgson succeeds Fabio Capello, the Italian who quit in February in a dispute with the FA after John Terry was stripped of the captaincy.

The FA overlooked the favorite, Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp, to hire a manager who has won eight league titles in two countries with three clubs and coached the national teams of Switzerland, Finland and the United Arab Emirates.

Hodgson has had spells in club football in England, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Switzerland and Italy, where he was twice in charge of Inter Milan.

England has a friendly against Norway in Oslo on May 26 and a home fixture 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.

Hodgson was able to rebuild his reputation at West Brom after a stormy six-month spell at Liverpool blemished his widely lauded record.

Hodgson's lowest points at Liverpool, where he was jeered by fans, should have prepared him for the demands and intensity faced in the pressure-packed England job where expectations exceed reality for a team without a major title since the 1966 World Cup.

Hodgson was somewhat of a surprise choice after Redknapp was overlooked for the job. Redknapp could not match Hodgson's international experience as he becomes the first England coach to be appointed after previously leading another national team.