Eriksson vows to battle through FA crisis

SVEN-GORAN ERIKSSON last night vowed to battle through the English Football Association crisis and carry on as boss — but warned he would not allow the new Professional Game Board to dictate his job.

The Swede was rocked by FA chief executive Adam Crozier's resignation when his authority was eroded in the ongoing power struggle with the Premier League.

And Eriksson worryingly delivered a strong hint he could follow his close ally out of Soho Square for the same reason if the PGB, who will oversee top-level football in England, question his every move.

The FA are still thrashing out the structure of the controversial new board but power-hungry club chairmen are determined to secure a bigger say in how the game is run.

But the Scandinavian, who has revitalised the national team, is emphatic about maintaining the FA structure as it is at present.

"I don't want two, three, four or five people above me who I report to for big or small decisions.

"I guess Adam left because of a collision with the Premier League. I think the new FA chief executive must be extremely strong.

"But politics is absolutely not my job and I didn't speak until now as the only important thing to me was who would I report to? And would they change anything about my job and Tord Grip's job?"

The FA unveiled an astonishing charm offensive for Eriksson yesterday as he spoke passionately about his future and handed Middlesbrough midfielder Jonathan Greening his chance to impress in the 26-man squad for next week's three-day England training camp.

The FA's former PR man Davies took great pride in announcing the results of an opinion poll which he said showed "Sven has a higher opinion poll rating today than any other public figure in living memory".