Grip is now Eriksson's assistant but it used to be the other way round. In 1980, Grip was coaching the Swedish Under-21s and invited Eriksson, then coach of IFK Gothenburg, to join him. Both men were strong advocates of the 4-4-2 system, which had been introduced to Sweden by English coaches at Malmö, Bob Houghton, and Roy Hodgson, at Halmstad."And by playing 4-4-2 the Under-21s beat Hungary 3-0 in Budapest, a fantastic result. But the senior team, coached by Lars Arnesson and playing with a sweeper, lost 2-0 Even then Arnesson would not give way. He said the Under-21s must play the same way as the senior team, so Grip and Eriksson quit. Eriksson has basically played four at the back ever since," explained Rosqvist.So for those who continue to grouch about the appointment of a foreign coach, at least there is the consolation of knowing that his tactical convictions are English-made But they have a strong Scandinavian veneer.

Rosqvist confirmed that Eriksson never gets too close to his players No Venables or Keegan he. However, his dressing-rooms at Gothenburg, Benfica, Roma, Fiorentina, Sampdoria and Lazio have been generally happy places. (Whether 15 trophies in 21 years bred happiness, or happiness bred trophies, is, I suppose, a moot point). "He never talks to a player in front of the others, whether to say something bad or good," added Rosqvist. But nor does he ever not talk to a player, so he is no Hoddle, either.As for Wednesday's friendly, and next month's vital World Cup qualifiers, Rosqvist expects Eriksson to resolve one of his trickiest tactical quandaries by playing David Beckham wide. England awaits with bated breath to see what else he will do And so does Sweden. The Swedes have a friendly international of their own to play on Wednesday, against Malta, but the trailers interrupting TV coverage of the world cross-country skiing championships last week were all for England v Spain.

"We are very nervous for Svennis," the mayor of Arvidsjaur told me "It is a very tough job.". Steve McManaman and Ray Parlour have been forced to pull out of the England squad for Wednesday's friendly against Spain after suffering hamstring injuries. The pair join Kieron Dyer in being forced out of Sven Goran Eriksson's 31-man squad. Steve McManaman and Ray Parlour have been forced to pull out of the England squad for Wednesday's friendly against Spain after suffering hamstring injuries.

The pair join Kieron Dyer in being forced out of Sven Goran Eriksson's 31-man squad. The West Ham midfielder Michael Carrick is also doubtful with a hamstring injury but will report for duty with the rest of the squad today, when any other injury problems will be assessed.McManaman was personally consulted about his fitness by Eriksson last week and told the new England coach that he should be able to report for duty. Indeed, the midfielder was relishing the possibility of taking on some of his Real Madrid team-mates in the friendly against Spain at Villa Park.However, he felt a hamstring problem during training on Friday and, although he managed to appear for 30 minutes as a substitute during Real's 2-2 draw with Deportivo La Coruña on Saturday, he has had to pull out.McManaman had a good chance of making the starting line-up for Eriksson's first game in charge. The Swede travelled to see him in action during Real's recent Champions' League clash against Lazio and is thought to have been impressed by his display.Eriksson's midfield options have now been significantly reduced by the withdrawals of Parlour, who was injured during Arsenal's 6-1 humiliation at Old Trafford yesterday, Dyer and McManaman, as well as the doubt over Carrick.Despite playing for 90 minutes for Newcastle on Saturday Dyer has pulled out at his own request because of a shin injury.Sunderland's veteran striker Niall Quinn and the Charlton captain Mark Kinsella are the latest players to withdraw from Mick McCarthy's Republic of Ireland squad for the friendly against Denmark in Dublin on the same night.Quinn is out with a recurrence of back trouble following Sunderland's defeat at Leicester on Saturday. Kinsella reported a hamstring strain after the 2-2 draw at Coventry.Last week Charlton's goalkeeper Dean Kiely and Tottenham's Stephen Carr also stood down from McCarthy's original 22-strong squad.