Norway coach Egil Olsen says England have got "lucky" with the choice of Roy Hodgson as boss after hailing him as one of football's innovators.
Olsen: Praise for Hodgson
Olsen believes England should play to their strengths and adopt a more direct approach under their new man, who enjoyed huge success in Scandinavia earlier in his career, winning multiple league titles in Sweden and Denmark.
The former Fulham, Liverpool and West Brom manager will take charge of England for the first time in tonight's friendly international in Oslo, and Olsen said: "Roy was a big influence on football in this region.
"He came together with Bob Houghton [the former Fulham striker who managed in Sweden at the same time as Hodgson] and started a revolution in terms of how football should be played.
"He was early with things like zonal defence and a flat back four, new things at that time, and a big influence on Norwegian football.
"We are quite close in our philosophies and I believe it is time England adapted a more direct approach. That's my opinion. I am a more direct manager.
"If you have strengths, you should play to them. In Norway it is a big difference between me and other coaches. They don't agree with me."
Olsen, who had a spell in charge of English side Wimbledon between 1999 and 2000, expects England to qualify from their Euro 2012 group but admits it is harder to predict how they will fare in the latter stages.
He said: "Roy has been national for coach for many countries and has had a lot of experience. It is a lucky choice for England and good luck to him.
"I hope he loses to us before winning the rest of his matches. But England should be number one or two in their European group.
"After that it is a cup: quarter-finals, semi-finals, and you never know what will happen. It's a random chance.
"It is much, much tougher to be English manager than Norwegian, but the salary is better!"
Olsen is also looking to protect a proud record from his playing days when he faces England tonight.
He said: "I played four times against England and have never lost.
"Never lost against England or Brazil."
Source : http://soccer365.com//news/european_news/general/17211/olsen_hails__revolutionary__hodgson
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