Hodgson's side will take on the Serie A giants in the first leg of their Europa League last 16 match at the Stadio Olimipico di Torino on Thursday night.

The match against the Old Lady represents a new high for the Cottagers, whom Hodgson took over in December 2007 when the club was facing the very real threat of relegation.

Hodgson has already guided the west London side through their best ever European campaign, and now hopes a win over Juve tomorrow will herald a new era in the club's history.

"Given our position when I came to the club in 2007 I don't think many people would have actually given any credence to the fact that we'd be this far forward now in our development," the former Inter Milan boss said.

"Apart from appearing in the last vestiges of the Intertoto Cup, we haven't had any European history so we are making history as we go along.

"The history we are making this year is a very important step in the club's history and one which I hope will provide that stronger foundation that which clubs like ourselves need to make.

"These adventures in Europe can help us in terms of us becoming a stronger football club but we have a long way to go, mind, before we match the Inter Milans, the Juves and the Milans."

Fulham's preparations for the match have been hit by bad weather in the northern Italian city.

Snow storms have meant that the Cottagers had to call off their training session at the stadium and instead could only train for an hour indoors at Juve's training complex in Vinovio.

Hodgson admits preparations have not been ideal for the match, but believes that will not ruin his side's chances of victory tomorrow against an injury-hit Juve side who currently sit fifth in Serie A.

"I went to look at the pitch at the stadium this afternoon," said Hodgson.

"Juventus made it clear that if we insisted on training, as we have the right to do from UEFA, that they would take off the covers and allow us to train on it but it was obvious to me that that would be counter productive.

"It won't be a good pitch with all that bad weather. It will be difficult and will cut up badly but it's not a drawback, not enormously. It can't be that bad. It will be 105 metres long by 68m wide so I'll take my chances."

Hodgson is making his return to a country where he had three successful spells in club management.

The 62-year-old managed Inter Milan twice, from 1995-97 and in 1999, before taking over at Udinese.

The Cottagers boss admits Italy holds a fond place in his heart and has not ruled out a return to management in the country.

"Could I work here again? Why not? you never know what's going to happen to you in football, Hodgson said.

"The two spells I had with Inter were enjoyable. Who knows what will happen in the future but it's not something I'm thinking about at the moment. I'm happy doing what I'm doing at Fulham and recently renewed my contract."

Storrie, whose salary when Pompey won the FA Cup in 2008 was widely reported as £1.2million including bonuses, has agreed to take a 40% pay cut, while "one or two" players have discussed a reduction in wages to help the plight of the Premier League's bottom club.

"He is still chief executive today," confirmed administrator Andrew Andronikou.

"He is still earning a wage and having spoken to Peter he would like it known he has taken a 40% cut in his basic wage.

"As regards to his basic wage he will be earning significantly less than £500,000. I don't believe there will be any bonuses this year."

Storrie has already stated he will resign when a fifth owner of the season is found, although his presence at the club could anger some fans due to his role during Pompey's financial meltdown.

While Storrie and the club's players remained in jobs, 85 from around 280 positions were made redundant and 12 members of staff are on reduced hours. There will also be discussions about staff taking wage deferrals.

"There is always a day in the administration when you have to look at yourself and wonder whether you like the job you do, but it is a necessary job," said Andronikou, who said he could not estimate the total savings of the cuts.

Andronikou, explaining why players were not included in redundancies, added: "The players are very much protected by the Professional Footballers' Association and I am unable to make cuts.

"Would I want to? They are the shop window of the club and we hope they will attract a buyer.

"One or two have discussed the possibility of reviewing their position with the club."

Pompey have seen the terms of their administration challenged, but Andronikou has held a "constructive" meeting with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs.

"We had a very constructive meeting with HMRC on Tuesday and the company have provided a detailed analysis of its financial transactions with Portpin Limited, the chargeholder in this matter," Andronikou said.

"HMRC should be now be satisfied that the said debenture is valid and according our appointment is valid. We are hoping this matter will be resolved shortly."

By entering administration, Pompey have a nine-point deduction hanging over them from the Premier League - but Andronikou is still hopeful the club will not be penalised.

He also claimed more than 12 parties are interested in buying the club and two have provided proof of funds. He revealed that potential owners may have to pay £5,000 to see the club's documents to prove they are serious bidders.

He added: "I will reiterate this message to interested parties: you have to provide to us proof of funds and a proven financial covenant before we release further financial documents.

"There are in excess of a dozen now, we are receiving interest on a daily basis. As regards the quality of the interested parties I cannot comment because I have kept them at arm's length.

"I've been almost brutal dealing with them because I am working to a distinct plan where I want to see their proof of finds first and check their proof of funds. We have had two provide proof of funds."

The battle at the top of the Premier League was previously seen as a two-horse race between Chelsea and Manchester United until Arsene Wenger's men put together four-successive wins to get within two points of the summit, then they were tipped to crash out of Europe this week but overturned a first-leg deficit with a 5-0 win against Porto.

"We're been written off twice already I think," said Vermaelen. "We're still in the race for both things, for the league and the Champions League, but you have to stay focused on every game and the next game is Hull City. You have to win every game.

"We will see at the end of the season. You have to focus every game and we will see where we are at the end."

Arsenal's resurgence has been without Robin van Persie after the Holland forward damaged ankle ligaments in November, while against Porto they were missing the influence of skipper Cesc Fabregas.

Fabregas is rated as "50-50" by Wenger to face Hull at the KC Stadium at the weekend.

"Cesc is really important for us but we have a lot of good players in the squad who can fill in his place," Vermaelen said.

The emphatic 5-0 victory over Porto came courtesy of Nicklas Bendtner's hat-trick, three days after he missed four clear-cut chances in the victory over Burnley.

"As a striker you have to stay confident all the time because there are some games when you don't score and that was the case on Saturday," Vermaelen said. "Against Porto he responded brilliantly. He didn't only score three goals, he won a lot of headers and that is important for the team.

"He doesn't struggle with confidence and that is a good thing for a striker. You always need a good centre-forward who scores goals for the team, he did that against Porto and I hope he will score a lot of goals in the future.

"He is still young, He has a lot of qualities - he's here at Arsenal so that means he has a lot of qualities."

Bendtner is known to be assured about his own ability - even if his treble takes his tally to just eight for the season - and Vermaelen saw no difference in the striker's attitude after his last two games.

"On Saturday he was still confident and I appreciate that because for a striker you have to be like that all the time," said the Belgium international. "After Porto he was no different to how he was against Burnley, he was just happy with the three goals and how he performed."

Victory against the Portuguese champions booked a place in the last eight of the Champions League, with Vermaelen adding: "I'm convinced we can win this competition."

Andrey Arshavin, who set up three goals against Porto, does not mind who Arsenal get in the quarter-finals.

He told his official website: "Honestly, It doesn't matter for me who gets there. Therefore, I do not want to make any predictions. We should play our own football against any opponent."

Emmanuel Eboue, who scored the fourth goal against Porto, is also determined to go one better than last season when they reached the semi-finals.

"Last year and this year is not the same because this year we are more comfortable and I think if we continue to play together like against Porto then why can we not do something?" he said.

Eboue was jeered by his own fans last season but is now a cult hero and wants to end the club's five-year trophy drought.

"I never said I wanted to move," he said. "I have got two more years with Arsenal and I feel very well here. I want to win something for the club because they have helped me a lot, so I want to win something for them.

"Arsene Wenger is always with us when we have a bad day so for me I think he is like our Daddy so we are all happy to play for him."

It is understood the Football Association are reviewing security procedures after an apparent secret recording of conversations between players and coaches before the Egypt friendly came to light.

The FA have yet to make a complaint to the police about the bugging, reportedly at The Grove hotel in Hertfordshire, because they are still waiting to have access to the recording. They have, however, taken legal steps to ensure the conversations remain under wraps.

Capello refused to answer direct questions on the subject on Wednesday, labelling it a "private problem", but, speaking at the Laureus Sports Awards in Abu Dhabi, the Italian said: "It's a challenge always to be England manager, but the challenge for me is always important because, at my age, without a challenge I stay home and can go on holiday.

"I like the challenge and this will be the most important challenge of my life. To be England manager was one of my dreams and I am really happy to be England manager.

"I would not swap my position with (Italy coach) Marcello Lippi, I prefer to be England manager."

Capello did concede he was surprised by the amount of off the field issues he has had to deal with, adding: "Yes, usually my job was to have to decide on the pitch, not outside the pitch. It's a new job for me.

"My job when I was manager of Milan, Juve, Roma or Madrid, I try to win always. For me it's the same now as England manager.

"I am focused to find the best way and we are one of the best teams in the World Cup. We hope to arrive at the semi-finals, minimum, and then, after a lot of years, win the World Cup.

"We have a good team, good players and at this moment we think we can beat all of the teams because we can play at the same level of the best teams in the world."

Capello even tried to put a positive spin on the spate of injuries suffered by England defenders recently, with Wes Brown the latest to join the likes of Rio Ferdinand and Ashley Cole in the treatment room.

But he admitted the in-form Wayne Rooney is certainly one player he can ill afford to be without at the World Cup in South Africa this summer.

"I think I am happy because the players are injured now and missing time before the World Cup starts," Capello said. "Brown, Ferdinand and Cole are out but the players who played against Egypt played very well and we have no big problem with defenders.

"Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Rooney are the three best players in the world at the moment. Their styles are completely different. One is fast, one has lots of imagination.

"Rooney is more strong, he runs a lot and helps everyone, and this year he scored many goals. I think he is one of the best but those three are really young and they are the best players for the future.

"I hope he will be in the same form during the World Cup and that he will be fit and not injured because he is one of the most important players."

Before England arrive in South Africa however, Capello will have the problem of selecting his squad in several stages.

"The last game of the Premier League is on May 9, but the FA Cup final is on May 15 and then I hope one of the English teams is in the Champions League final on May 22, so I have to select my squad at three different moments," Capello explained.

Capello's provisional squad to travel to the training camp in Austria is likely to leave out players in the FA Cup and Champions League finals, with the former perhaps joining up with the squad when they return to England for the friendly with Mexico on May 23 or 24.

Players involved in the Champions League final should join the squad before the last warm-up friendly against Japan in Austria on May 30.