Eriksson may quit in five years' time

In it, Eriksson said: 'I have a contract with England for five years, which I am extremely proud of. I hope to survive and complete that contract but, of course, in football you never know.'

That could hardly be classed as a retraction of what he had said.

The five straight wins Eriksson has masterminded since taking over as England coach have given rise to a wave of optimism, especially as the run has included World Cup qualifying successes against Finland at home and Albania and Greece away.

But Eriksson is conscious that the public mood can swing dramatically on one result - especially one against dreaded opponents Germany.

England must beat the Group Nine favourites in Munich on September 1 if they are to have any hope of automatic qualification for next year's World Cup Finals in Japan and Korea.

The least a demanding public would accept is qualification via the playoffs and, if England fail, it will matter little that five points out of six were lost before Eriksson took over.

Eriksson is unlikely to stomach the kind of vilification that some of his predecessors, notably Graham Taylor, were subjected to and if England don't make the World Cup Finals again, there is every possibility he would walk away, a scenario he has clearly already contemplated.

He admitted that the job of Sweden coach might appeal to him, as would leading a club in Spain, where he has yet to work.

However, there is no question over his short-term commitment and he says he already knows his line-up for Munich, even though there is a friendly against Holland before that.

He said: 'We have found the right players and the right mix. There will be no revolutionary changes.'