The FA has confirmed Roy Hodgson as the new England manager. The current West Bromwich Albion manager will leave his post at the West Midlands club at the conclusion of the Premier League season and take charge of England for their friendly matches in the build-up to Euro 2012. He replaces interim manager Stuart Pearce, who will resume his job as Under-21 manager.

England's last permanent manager, Fabio Capello, resigned on February 8. He was expected to manage the team through Euro 2012 and step down, but he left the job after John Terry was stripped of the England captaincy by the FA without consulting Capello. As the interim manager, Pearce was in charge of one game between the tenures of the two permanent managers, a 3-2 loss to the Netherlands.

When Capello resigned, Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp was originally the extremely heavy favorite for the job, but was never interviewed. Between Tottenham's sharp dip in form after Capello's resignation and the price that Spurs chairman Daniel Levy would likely demand for the release of Redknapp, he was neither a realistic nor preferred option.

The FA announced the hire on Tuesday.

The Football Association is delighted to announce the appointment of Roy Hodgson as England Manager.

Joining from West Bromwich Albion, Hodgson has agreed a four year deal to become the full-time Manager of the Three Lions.

Hodgson was not a high-level professional player before he entered the coaching profession. He came up through the Crystal Palace youth academy, but never appeared for the team. He bounced around the lower leagues in England and had a short playing stint in South Africa before he got started in management before his 30th birthday. The 64-year-old has held management jobs in Sweden, Norway, Finland, the United Arab Emirates, Switzerland, Denmark and Italy in addition to England.