Eriksson Determined To Put Things Right In Final G

[Shivek]

Sven-Goran Eriksson has vowed to make amends for England's humiliating defeat in Belfast by leading his side to the World Cup finals.

However, while he admitted his players had worryingly lost their 'spirit' in their 1-0 defeat to Northern Ireland, he insisted his tactics had not been to blame.

England must now beat Austria and Poland in their last two group games to ensure they avoid the play-offs and, to make matters worse, Wayne Rooney is suspended for the first tie after picking up his second booking of the campaign.

Eriksson, meanwhile, endured the first calls for his dismissal as chants of 'sack the Swede' came from pockets of England fans around Windsor Park last night.

Even he admitted the calls were 'understandable if you lose against Northern Ireland', although there is no chance of the Football Association incurring a huge pay-off by forcing him out just yet.

Indeed, the England coach remained defiant in the face of one of the worst defeats in England's football history, having lost in Belfast for the first time since 1927 and to a side ranked just 116th in the world.

'I am not going to resign. I am going to try to make it right in October by winning two games and then we will qualify,' he declared.

That is rather easier said than done, especially with Eriksson having similarly vowed after the awful 4-1 defeat in Denmark that his players would not perform as badly again.

In reality, it took them less than a month and the most worrying aspect was Eriksson admitting their spirit had been sapped in Belfast even before half-time.

'For 35 minutes, we played exactly how we wanted to play and controlled the game. We created some half-chances,' he observed.

'But after that, we lost our patience and spirit. We didn't find it at half-time or in the second half, and that's why we lost the game.'

Not that the problems ended there. Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard were both so ineffective in midfield that they were substituted, while Rooney's indiscipline let him down once again.

With the teenager's frustration levels growing out on the left wing of a misguided 4-3-3 system, he swore at David Beckham when he was urged to calm down after a free-kick decision went against him just before the break.

Rooney promptly charged, with his arm raised, into an aerial challenge with Keith Gillespie, earning him a booking, before only just escaping a red card with another ugly foul on Chris Baird.

Eriksson even considered taking Rooney off at half-time - as he did before the interval in a friendly in Madrid last November - but could not afford to be without his only creative attacking influence.

Not that Rooney created that much, with England's only chances coming when Beckham struck the woodwork with a free-kick and Michael Owen's overhead kick was saved by Maik Taylor, who also tipped Lampard's drive around the post.

Northern Ireland, meanwhile, grew in stature as the match progressed, rather than tiring as they did in a 4-0 defeat at Old Trafford last season.

With 14 minutes left, Steve Davis clipped a pass through to David Healy, who had nipped back onside. Having adeptly controlled the ball on his instep, he let fly with a unstoppable shot into the far corner.

England were powerless to recover, although Eriksson refused to blame the 4-3-3 system that has looked so unconvincing against Wales and now Northern Ireland.

'I don't think that the organisation or formation was the problem. Almost all the players on the pitch played in positions that they do in their clubs, like Rooney, Owen, Lampard and so on. It can't be that reason,' he stressed.

Reverting to 4-4-2 against Austria must now surely happen, although the absence of Rooney may yet mean that Eriksson persists with 4-3-3 unless he selects Peter Crouch.

Either way, the idea - expressed on the eve of this game by Eriksson - that England could rival Brazil at the World Cup finals is now somewhat laughable - in anything other than perhaps cricket.

They may have the individual players to do so, but not the team or the tactics. And, it is increasingly emerging, maybe not the coach.