Hodgson relieved by takeover progress

Hodgson took over at a turbulent time (GETTY IMAGES)

Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson has welcomed the expected takeover by New England Sports Ventures, admitting it is a relief a "bad time" appears to be coming to the end.

The club are to set to confirm they have been bought by NESV, owners of the Boston Red Sox, after Tom Hicks and George Gillett were defeated in their legal battle to stop the takeover.

Hicks and Gillet have, however, claimed they will sue for £1billion in damages because, they believe, the sale to NESV is "illegal" and have threatened to launch another destabilising legal action.

But having seen his two-and-a-half-month reign dominated by takeover talk Hodgson is pleased there is light at the end of the tunnel.

"It is a very positive situation, if that is the case, and a very good day for the club - a day everyone at the club will welcome and the new owners will welcome," said the Liverpool manager ahead of Sunday's derby at Everton.

"It is a relief. It has been a very difficult couple of weeks.

"For this long drawn-out court battle to take place and Liverpool's name to be on the television screens and in the newspapers every day for anything other than positive reasons has been a bad time.

"We've had to live through that bad time but hopefully now, if NESV are going to take over, that would be very good news for us going into the important match at the weekend."

Hodgson has spoken to John W Henry, the head of NESV, on the phone but said there was no discussion about his own position at the club or what transfer funds would be available should the takeover go through.

"There hasn't been any talk about my position at the club," he added.

"He called me and his message was that he was hoping the deal would go through, he was very much looking forward to becoming the new owner and he was looking forward to working with me and the people who were here but we didn't talk about investment."

Hodgson said after months of uncertainty he was optimistic NESV could bring a more stable environment at Anfield.

"All people and clubs need stability, all managers and players need stability and it is becoming a very hard thing to find," he added.

"We live in a world where you are either on top or at the bottom and the middle line is not appreciated by the mass media.

"I am hoping the new owners coming in will stabilise the situation and give us a chance to concentrate on the football and, most importantly of all, will wipe out debts.

"That will mean in future we can invest in players in a different way to what has happened in the last transfer window when money was in short supply and we weren't even certain there would be any money to spend or even if the club would be there.

"The mere fact the club will be taken over and the debts wiped off immediately puts us into a different financial position to the one we have been in."