The Baggies were hovering above the Premier League relegation zone in February when they decided to sack boss Roberto Di Matteo and replace him with Hodgson, who had himself been dismissed by Liverpool only a few weeks earlier. The move appeared to be something of a gamble on Albion's part given the troubled six month spell Hodgson had just endured at Anfield, but under his guidance they finished the campaign impressively to secure 11th place in the table, and Pulis sees them being stronger in 2011-12. "Roy is an experienced person who I have great respect for," said Pulis, whose team take on West Brom at The Hawthorns on Sunday. "I think the Liverpool experience will only have made him stronger and more determined as a person. "Even though Roy is in his 60s now, he still has that desire to be successful, and I think he has picked a good football club. "West Bromwich Albion is run along very similar lines to ourselves in lots of respects. He will have a tight budget there and he will have to work very hard. "But he did very well at the back end of last year and looking at them, they look stronger this year. "I think he has made some good signings and they have got some good players there. "The thing Roy will do is put a playing structure in place that everybody understands and they will be very, very difficult to beat." Hodgson was offered the Liverpool job following a hugely successful stint in charge of Fulham, who he led to the 2010 Europa League final. During his time with the Cottagers the 64-year-old was frequently spoken of as a potential candidate to succeed Fabio Capello as England coach. It is something Pulis - although in no doubt about Hodgson's managerial qualities - is not keen to speculate about. "England have got a manager at the moment and I think it is disrespectful to Capello talking about who is going to be the next manager," Pulis said. "I also think it is disrespectful to West Brom talking about Roy going and doing the England job. "He has a job to do at West Brom and I think he is very happy there at a smashing football club. "If the England job comes up and is offered to Roy, you should speak to Roy and see what he has to say about it."
