Roy Hodgson has NEVER suffered Premier League relegation... from securing 12 points in the final five games at Fulham to making history by keeping Palace up after losing their first seven matches, but will he produce another miracle at Watford?

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It would have been all too easy for Roy Hodgson to slip into retirement and enjoy a comfortable life taking in football matches from the comfort of his own home. But, to those who know and have worked with him, his return comes as little surprise.

After all, he is the master of the great escape - a survival specialist in every sense of the term. Across his lengthy and storied career in the game, he has set down solid foundations and looked to build on them - often leading to him beating the drop.

Fulham, Crystal Palace and, to a lesser extent, West Brom can attest to that. His philosophy is built around quickly establishing some much needed stability across the spine of his team, while also allowing for attackers to showcase their flair. 

Roy Hodgson has stepped back into management once again in an attempt to rescue Watford

Watford are languishing in 19th spot, two points off safety, after their 3-0 defeat by Norwich

Along the way, he will organise his troops, methodically and meticulously. While a coach often accused of allowing for boring and stunted football, Hodgson gets results, there is no denying that. At Watford, the pressure is on right from the off.

He has been known to repeat sessions over and over again, until the building blocks of his blueprint are almost muscle memory for his players. From there, they will be taught about his patterns of play, day after day, until he is eventually satisfied.

It is no surprise, then, that his teams are often a difficult watch. But the bottom line for his current brief is that getting points on the board is king and, judging by his first training session, his bid to repeat his previous heroics is already in full swing. 

Hodgson has never been relegated from the Premier League, and has put this record at risk

Alongside his trusty lieutenant Ray Lewington (R), Hodgson will take his players back to basics

Watford posted a montage of Hodgson training up his squad at their base on the day he took charge and there was nothing to shock supporters. Ray Lewington was equally hands-on, with the veteran duo taking their players back through the basics.

This will surely be a welcome approach, and likely the best way for the crisis-stricken club to rediscover their confidence as they bid to pull away from the relegation dogfight. After all, it has worked before, so why would the 74-year-old change now?

Back in December 2007, a slightly more fresh-faced Hodgson took over at Craven Cottage, with Fulham languishing in 18th position and facing up to another season in the Championship. At the time, though, they were just two points from safety.

The fact they had won just two games in the Premier League laid bare the task facing Hodgson, but he set about the job in typical fashion. Back came the fundamentals, the attitude improved and, slowly but surely, the fanbase came back onside.

After taking charge at Fulham in December 2007, Hodgson helped his new club avoid the drop

His heroics at Craven Cottage soon saw him form a close connection with the club's fanbase

Miraculously, he managed to piece together a run of 12 points from the final five games of the campaign - including a 3-2 victory over Manchester City. Having been two goals down with time ticking down, their fighting spirit burst to the surface. 

This superb form ensured their survival, and a 1-0 win over Portsmouth on the final day of the 2007-08 season wrapped up mission impossible. Hodgson wasn't done there, too, as he eventually took Fulham to the Europa League final two years on. 

In his two seasons there, the club finished seventh and 12th, and came close to securing glory on the continent in the second. He later departed for Liverpool, where his way of working came undone and he was sacked after a horror run.

Even that wasn't enough to force him out of the game. Just a month later, Hodgson took the reins at West Brom. Once again, the state of the side he inherited was poor. At the time of his appointment, they were sitting in 17th, just above the drop zone.

Hodgson moved on to West Brom, where he inspired a drastic turnaround in top-flight form

They had lost 13 of their previous 18 matches and were only outside of the bottom three on goal difference. Level-headed as ever, though, Hodgson helped inject new life into his team, and subsequently guided them to safety, just like Fulham.

Five wins and five draws from their 12 remaining games signalled a remarkable turnaround, including a win over Liverpool - the side who had axed him. Dubbed as 'Roy's Revenge', that result helped West Brom go on to finish in 11th place. 

The next season, Hodgson found his squad continually hit by injuries, and Zoltan Gera was also ruled out for the campaign after damaging his cruciate ligament. Despite this, the team largely managed to keep their heads above water.

At one stage, over the hectic Christmas period, West Brom dropped to within three points of 18th-placed Bolton, but again, Hodgson was able to inspire his men to piece together a brilliant run which saw them lift themselves into mid-table comfort.

Despite coming close to the bottom three, Hodgson was able to secure Premier League safety

Indeed, in the final third of the campaign, they won six games, drew three and lost five, during a testing run-in which saw them play seven of the top-eight teams. Extra satisfaction even came the manager's way when they defeated Liverpool. 

They finished 10th overall. After, Hodgson was named as England's new manager. The less said about that tenure, the better, but once again the wily tactician moved on to new pastures after taking up the Crystal Palace vacancy in September 2017.

When he arrived, his boyhood club were in a state of disarray. After four games, they sat on zero points. Incredibly, they'd also failed to hit the back of the net. Toothless across the pitch, the side Hodgson took charge of were battered and bruised. 

On that occasion, however, there was no rapid change in fortunes. In fact, he lost his first three games in charge, but finally revitalised his players. Eventually, they went on to secure an 11th-placed finish, and broke a very welcome record along the way.

During his spell at Crystal Palace, the veteran was able to secure top-flight status every year

No team had previously survived relegation after suffering defeat in their first seven games, but Palace were able to break this hoodoo under Hodgson. They finished the 2018-19 campaign on 49 points - their joint-best ever tally in a league season.

In his overall time in charge, they finished in 11th, 12, 14th and 14th. While they often found themselves in lower mid-table, they were rarely left scrambling for points in a desperate bid to beat the drop, leaving supporters satisfied but wanting more.

That is the reason why, when he stepped away at the end of last season, he did so with his head held high. Palace enjoyed relative comfort in the top tier of football in this country, with Hodgson bringing about a long-lost feeling of stability. 

And, as officially revealed earlier this week, he is not done there. Now at Watford, Hodgson is ready to continue in management. 

Claudio Ranieri was recently axed at Vicarage Road after failing to transform their fortunes

'It is a sadistic pleasure,' Hodgson told the Guardian in 2018. 'The suffering never stops – that's the problem. If anything, it gets worse. 

'Getting that foot on the rung of the ladder, that's where you find it easier to shrug off those times when your foot slips off and you have to get yourself going again. 

'When you have been lucky enough to move up, all you see is the slide back down. You don't see the further steps upwards.

Hodgson knows more than most that management is a mixed bag, but still remains dedicated

'You learn to harden yourself towards it but, the longer you are in, it isn't something you can give up lightly. Even if you're not winning, it is possible to derive some satisfaction from the fact you are working properly.'

He knows more than most that coaching is a mixed bag, but he is still able to hold pride for the fact that he has never tasted relegation from the Premier League. 

This is a record he is again putting on the line, perhaps for one last time.