Hodgson was officially appointed on Tuesday and within a day was the subject of some less than complimentary headlines in several national newspapers.

The West Brom boss knows that once he vacates his position at the Hawthorns and takes control of his first game in charge of the Three Lions, some people will be out to get him.

Hodgson will soon start his preparation for Euro 2012 with warm-up games against Norway and Belgium and admits he is not concerned by the amount of flack he is certain to receive.

"Maybe I should develop a thick skin. I'm a football coach. That's been the whole of my life," he said.

"Dealing with the mass media has been a part of that. I have not shied away from it and it hasn't bothered me. It's part of my duties.

"I get on with it and do a reasonable job. But my forte is coaching footballers and preparing, building and improving football teams.

"That's basically what the England manager's job is. If I'm going to be vulnerable in any area it might be that I don't have a thick enough skin.

"But I'd rather that than not have the wherewithal to do the job."

Hodgson is so sure of his own ability that he did not doubt for one second whether he was the man for the England job.

"There was no element of doubt. I have been a candidate in the past and it's gone to other people," he said.

"When this opportunity came around, even though I maybe should have considered these things, I haven't.

"I'm just delighted and pleased to have the opportunity to lead my country and help the team get success."

It has been speculated that Hodgson might meet up with his predecessor Fabio Capello to discuss how the squad can improve ahead of the summer tournament.

"It's a good idea. No doubt I will try and speak to him, if I can track him down, although it's not something I've had a chance to do yet," Hodgson said.

Hodgson does not believe England's lack of success on the international stage has anything to do with the young talent being produced.

"That would be a very harsh criticism. The respect for English football is very high," he said.

"Everyone, like ourselves, is surprised we haven't been able to capitalise on the talent we've produced.

"But it's going too far to say something's desperately wrong. You need a bit of luck in tournament football and we have not been blessed with it.

"Expectations do weigh heavily. The fear of failure. We have to be aware it's a factor in everything we do, so we have to take it into account when we prepare the team."