Sven's comedy side

Keegan's failure opened the door for England's first foreign coach so Eriksson is well aware of the price that must be paid should this latest attempt at World Cup glory collapse at the qualifying stage.

But for Eriksson such an outcome is unthinkable. He accepts that he has not yet achieved the kind of success he had anticipated, but that simply sharpens his appetite for what's ahead. What is more, he does not want to give his opponents the excuse to sack him.

Some have already tried, of course, but Eriksson remains genuinely bewildered by the fuss generated by the revelation that he'd had a relationship with a secretary at the FA.

He was warned before he joined the FA that the media would take an interest in his private life but he's found the intensity of this scrutiny quite mind-boggling. But those around him have been impressed by the quiet way he has coped with the lurid headlines and the invasion of his privacy.

Two of his closest friends in English football are David Davies, the FA's executive director, and David Dein, the vice-chairman of Arsenal, and both agree that although he's inwardly sensitive to criticism he rarely shows any emotion.

"I don't think I've ever seen him angry or upset," said Davies.

It was Davies who was given the job of accompanying Eriksson from Rome to London for his first media conference shortly after he had agreed to take charge of the England team in October 2000.

"I'd never met him before but I had heard all the stories about the iceman image," recalled Davies. "So when I sat with him on the plane I was really surprised to find him talkative, sociable and very, very humourous." Few outsiders would credit Eriksson with a sense of humour, but it's there alright.

"Yes, you can have a laugh with him," said Sir Trevor Brooking, the FA's director of football development. "He's got a sharp sense of humour. You can take the mickey - and he'll always bite back.

"I don't think I've ever seen him when he's not been in a good mood. He takes that affability into the dressing room. The players respond and listen to him. He has a very good relationship with them."

This close bond he has with the players - I've never heard him criticise one, for instance - enables him to impress upon each of them individually the importance of the jobs he asks them to fulfil.

"Every players knows what is expected of them," said Peter Taylor, recently re-instated as Eriksson's Under-21s coach. "What they like about him is his even temper. World Cup match, friendly match, it makes no difference. He's never excited or nervous. He makes them feel relaxed."

One senior player once said that Eriksson had "taken the emotion out of running the England team". Some might claim that is more of a hindrance than a help but statistics suggest he is the most successful of recent England coaches.

He has only lost two competitive games in open play - against Brazil and France - and remains unbeaten in qualifying ties.

Typically, he makes no fuss of his record and is not even aware of it. Triumph or despair, these are matters for the squad as a whole, not just him.

Everyone has a role to play. He makes his staff feel as important as the players. It's all part of the bonding process. Meal times, for instance, are a ritual when the squad is away in a hotel.

"Sven's a stickler for time-keeping," said Brooking. "We all eat together and we all eat the same things. It's all healthy stuff - there's no sausage and bacon at breakfast sadly."

A typical Sven diet comprises fruit for breakfast, a plain salad for lunch and fish with pasta for dinner.

He enjoys an occasional glass of champagne, jogs regularly and slips out to the theatre in London from time to time. He reads the Italian newspapers, the Gothenburg Post and historical novels.

Although mobile phones are banned at meal times, he spends hours talking about football to friends around the world.

"In the space of half an hour you'll hear him talking football in three or four different languages," smiled Brooking.

Yet, behind his desk in his Soho Square office is a sign pinned on the wall that reads: "Talk low, talk slow, say little."

Whatever his secret is, I suspect he's going to keep it to himself.