Croydon’s own Roy Hodgson is to be awarded the Freedom of the Borough, Council Leader Tony Newman has announced.

The Palace boss, who was successful in keeping the club in the Premier League this season, is set to be given the honour in the autumn in recognition of his contribution to Croydon and to football, both home and abroad.

The club, which was a "10-minute walk" from his boyhood home, has played a large part in his life. Hodgson had a stint as a youth player with the Eagles, and as a boy he was a Palace fan who attended John Ruskin grammar school, where played for the school team.

Five decades later, the former England manager joined the club in September 2017, turning the club's season around from potential relegation to 11th position in the table; cementing him in the hearts and affection of the fans.

Hodgson said: “It is a great honour to be awarded the Freedom of the Borough and I would like to thank Councillor Newman and his colleagues for awarding it to me.

"I could never have dreamt that my journey in life would take me from walking to Selhurst Park with my father and sitting on the crossbar at the Holmesdale Road End, to managing the club I have always supported and to being recognised by Croydon Council for my career in football. It is very much an honour I would wish to dedicate to my parents”.

👑 Roy Hodgson is to be awarded the Freedom of the Borough of Croydon!



👉 https://t.co/fr56VwoXm9 pic.twitter.com/S2BUYkBpMc — Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) May 16, 2018

Cllr Newman added: “I’m delighted to be recommending Roy for Freedom of the Borough as he represents all that is great about Croydon. Born and raised here, he’s had a remarkable international career in football, and to cap it all he’s now the manager and saviour of Crystal Palace.

"He will go down in history for his remarkable feat in keeping the team in the Premier League this year, but I’m sure he plans to top this for Palace next season.”