Jose backing Sven

Jose Mourinho today backed Sven-Goran Eriksson to weather the storm surrounding his role in the Football Association sex scandal and continue as England coach.

Mourinho, who only became head coach at Chelsea after Eriksson turned the job down, believes that the Swede’s private life has no bearing on his ability to lead England.

Eriksson is facing an FA investigation and could even be sacked following his affair with secretary Faria Alam. The England coach is due to fly back from holiday in Sweden today to face growing calls for him to go.

David Davies, the FA’s executive director, will hold the key to Eriksson’s
future. It is understood Davies asked the Swede the crucial question last week
that led to the FA issuing a denial of the affair — a denial they were later
forced to retract.

Mourinho feels the storm is an irrelevance, however, and believes Eriksson
should be allowed to get on with his job. He said: “I don’t care about private
lives or private people.

“I don’t care about someone’s personal life but their professionalism and the quality of their work.