YOU don't need to hear Roy Hodgson to detect the tension.

Bubbling along, simmering away.

It's the 'Liverpool questions' which generally do this.

And further 'Liverpool questions' in Friday's press conference will inevitably test that some more.

While Hodgson is rebuilding his reputation for astute coaching, team organisation and man-management, the memories of his spell at Liverpool remain.

Hodgson was, of course, unsuccessful at Anfield.

But the blame shouldn't be exclusive to him. He took over perhaps the worst set of players to be handed over to any new Liverpool boss. Rafa Benitez, as successful as he was for periods of his reign, left a bowl of dog food for his successor to munch on. Those players let him down on occasions.

As Jamie Carragher - a beacon of common sense - declared, you can't expect to sell 'one of our best players' (Javier Mascherano) and expect to improve a side which had already underachieved in the previous campaign by finishing seventh. Hodgson was three points away from being in the higher reaches of the Premier League when he was sacked.

There was a changing boardroom landscape. I challenge any manager to work against a backdrop of in-fighting, uncertainty and politicking. Hodgson lives in a tracksuit. His environment is on a training pitch, not among the movers and shakers in the boardroom.

Yes he made a couple of dubious signings - don't they all - and he was wrong to bite back at his dissenters. Results were inconsistent too but perhaps Roy's biggest crime was to not be Kenny Dalglish, who wanted, but failed, to get the job last summer.

Time has moved on. Hodgson should be judged on a 36-year career, not on the a six-month period at the back end of 2010. He can dip into the experience of working at many clubs, of having coached three national sides and having an extensive mental knowledge and database of players - Jonas Olsson, for instance, has been on his radar since he was a 19-year-old in Sweden.

But, of course, you supposedly need to be 'special' to handle a club of Liverpool's size. So they say.

Hodgson was simply an easy target because of who he wasn't.

You only have to spend any period of time on Twitter to see the Kop's finest venting their spleen, even now. Venom, abuse, insults pore forth about a man whose only crime was to not turn the club around in quick enough time. If only Hodgson had dipped into their vast knowledge before making his personnel and tactical selections then he might still be in a job.

In any case, Hodgson has moved on and is in the process of a mini-transformation of Albion.

Evolution is the key. Previous first-teamers have been left out, exiles have been brought back.

While the defensive record still needs improving, the organisation, discipline and structure of the back four (and midfielders in front of them) suggests that goal chances for the opposition will be harder to come by.

He has brought definition to the Albion side without the forwards losing their potency.

Sad Roy has long gone. Those images of the gaunt, weary man stood in front of a Standard Chartered-branded backdrop are in the past. There has been no frantic rubbing of faces since he took over. He's content again.

It's still too early to say whether the Baggies will stay up. But they've given themselves a better chance.

Liverpool might not be feeling the loss of Hodgson, but Albion can certainly get some gain from his presence.

Three points on Saturday will bring joy to Hodgson's soul. Not so much revenge, but hopefully some closure on his part.

Everyone has their own memories of Bryan Robson.

As a player it might include a brilliant strike in an FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool, a 27-second goal against France - he still wears the gold watch he was awarded in recognition - making a fool out of Diego Maradona in every game he played against him (if only he had been fit for that quarter-final) and for being the most-accomplished player of his generation and every one since.
Steven Gerrard and co don't even get close.

Did he have a weakness? Apart from his injury record, probably not.

A player who spent nine years and made 250 appearances for Albion - not many players get close to such lengths of time with one club these days.

And he's a good bloke. When the best man for my sister's wedding approached me about filming a message from Bryan, there was no hesitation on his part. He was more than willing.

Robson, whenever he wore that favoured No7 shirt, was robust, powerful and will treat cancer in the same way he treated every midfield battle.

I'd back him to win this battle too. It's the cancer I feel sorry for.

THOSE of us who are privileged enough to sit in the press room and spout our opinions tend to be a cynical bunch.

Any player rested must immediately be under suspicion for scrapping with his manager. There will have been haymakers, name calling and they'll have rolled around in the mud like dirty pigs, stinking the place out.

A player falling ill on the day of a game? No bother - he's been dropped for some reason or other. He's probably been caught out in a Summer Row nightspot two nights before a match. Tut tut.

Someone else being brought back in...well we all know that he's related to the manager. They must be. Or someone has pictures that the other doesn't want releasing. It's obvious.

But what of Abdoulaye Meite?

Such was the Ivory Coast defender's inactivity at Albion that there was more chance of him walking around the Mailbox on a Saturday afternoon than patrolling his six-yard area.

A colleague - no longer on this patch I should add - used to refer to Meite as May Day, such was his tendency for goalmouth 'disaster'.

Harsh? Without a doubt. But somewhat understandable. Let's be honest, how many people groaned when they saw the team-sheet before the Stoke game?

He got a 'three' out of 10 in his last outing of 2010, versus Ipswich. Only special performances warrant such a lack of respect. I've counted four 'threes' during my 10-year spell covering the club.

But, credit where it's due, Roy Hodgson has tapped into something. And Meite has responded.
Two outstanding performances - and yes, they were that good - have given hope.

This isn't totally surprising. Think back to the start of his Albion career in 2008. He and Jonas Olsson were always the most convincing central defensive partnership of that campaign, even though they rarely figured as a partnership for one reason or another.

Gary Megson famously fell out with Meite during half-time when Bolton played Manchester United. On the night Albion signed Meite, I, by total coincidence, bumped into Bryan Robson when I was out with a mate. The gist of the conversation is that Albion had dropped one.

Meite has taken some strides towards proving us all wrong. The warning signs could soon be removed, the cynicism will tail off.

The 30-year-old is now being challenged to fight for his Albion future by Baggies boss Hodgson.

He clearly has the ability, the nous and the fight when he wants to. Perhaps Hodgson is exactly what Meite needed. He's brought the giant back to life.

Good news for all concerned.

In January, nobody wanted him. Celtic sniffed but weren't sure, the rest were sure in showing no interest.

Two months on, if Meite can impress he will stand a good chance of being kept on by Albion, who have the option of taking up a 12-month clause.

Meite has a lot of catching up to do. But, based on these 'first' two performances, perhaps he's finally retrieving some of the ability we all suspected he had within him.

It's now up to him. He should view this as the second chapter of his Albion career. It's certainly a second chance few of us envisaged he would get.