Hodgson said: “I think what I’m most happy about is that we’ve changed the squad.
“We’ve got a small squad now, one that we really believe in and is well-balanced.
“When I came in January we really had far too many players and lots of them just trebling or quadrupling up for positions, never getting a game and obviously costing the club a lot of money.
“With a squad of only 23 players now, of which three are goalkeepers, it will give the younger players a chance to push forward and show what they can do in the first-team group.
“Although the squad is at the limit in terms of size, at least it’s full of the right type of players that we want to be at the club.”