'I've learned a lot' - Roy Hodgson pleased for Bristol City squad after winning return at Charlton

Roy Hodgson's Bristol City ended a six-match winless run in with a win away to Charlton Athletic on Good Friday

Roy Hodgson insists that he's "learned a lot" from Bristol City's win over Charlton Athletic, with the Robins' interim boss "pleased" for his squad after their Good Friday success over the Addicks.

The Reds kick-started Hodgson's seven-game tenure with a 2-1 win at The Valley in the first match after a March international break of change in BS3. Goals from Scott Twine and Noah Eile early in either half were enough to secure the points.

Twine slotted City into the lead with just 11 minutes played when he turned home his 12th of the season after a smart Max Bird pass. Though it was the Robins who had the better of the chances from that point on, Lyndon Dykes pulled Charlton level from inside the area on the half-hour mark.

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After the restart, the Reds rediscovered their control, and minutes later, their advantage was restored when Eile bundled in from close range after a Twine free-kick. While Radek Vitek and the backline had to deal with a late barrage of crosses, corners and throws, Hodgson's side were able to hold on to claim a first win in seven.

Asked if he was delighted to return to management with three points, Hodgson told Bristol Live, "It's more a question of that I come back and the team wins; it's not that I come back with a win, as such.

"I was pleased for the team. I was pleased with the way that they went about trying to win the game. I thought in the first half, and in the second half, before the onslaught started, we were looking really good value for a victory. Also, I must take my hat off to that backline, the goalkeeper and the midfield players for surviving the onslaught.

"I'm afraid that the cult of the manager, the cult of the coach is something that I tend to play down," he continued. "It's football players that win it. If you're going to win, you need quality in your team.

"There is another element of the desire and the determination, and I think sometimes, as a coach, you can be proud when the players are showing that, and you can be proud perhaps even of the shape and the way they've kept the shape that everyone's agreed we should try and play.

"You can be very proud of those things, but otherwise I would advise young coaches not to get too proud every time they win a game, because they're going to lose a lot."

Hodgson, who had been retired for two years before returning to the Robins' dugout for the run-in, was appointed as the Reds' interim coach a week ago after the decision was taken to relieve Gerhard Struber of his duties as head coach, midway through the international break.

With the City squad afforded time off last weekend, the 78-year-old - whose last stint in charge at Ashton Gate came 44 years ago - didn't meet the bulk of his squad until Monday morning, four days before the squad travelled to The Valley.

Hodgson's time on the training ground with the likes of Jason Knight, Ross McCrorie and Tomi Horvat has been even more limited, with all three internationals returning from international break late in the week. As a result, the hour and a half of action on Good Friday was a valuable experience.

"I've learned a lot," the interim boss explained. "Don't forget, this is the first time I've seen these seriously play live, so I've learned a lot.

"I think they should be proud of the fact that they came away with the three points, and I personally thought, certainly for large periods of the game, we were more deserving of it."

The three points gained against the Addicks are enough to propel the Robins up to 13th in the Championship table, with the gap to the play-off places standing at 10 points ahead of Sheffield United's Easter Monday visit to south Bristol.

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