Ex-England boss feels he would have been sacked for poor showing.
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Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson believes he would not have survived the sack if his sides had put in such a poor showing at a World Cup, according to the Daily Telegraph.
The Swede led the Three Lions to three consecutive quarter-final appearances at major tournaments, and admits he cannot understand why expectations have lowered so much since his time in charge of the national side.
Eriksson was not always the most popular choice for England manager, but it was seen as a disappointment when his squad, full of big names such as David Beckham, Paul Scholes and Michael Owen, failed to truly challenge as serious contenders to win a World Cup or European Championship, whereas many are now praising current head coach Roy Hodgson despite his side’s dismal exit in this year’s group stage.
Eriksson feels he may have been treated worse for not being English, and has suggested that Hodgson does not deserve to still be in the job after his side’s failure to pick up a single point so far in Brazil 2014.
“I know for sure, if that had been me, I would have been sacked at once,” he said. “If he were foreign, he would be sacked. I’m quite sure about that.
“I don’t know why the expectations are so low today. The expectations in the three tournaments I had the team, was the final or semi-final – no other discussions. And when we reached the quarter-final, that was not good enough.
“Today, it seems to be very, very good if you would do this. I don’t think things have changed, realistically. England has still a very, very good team. It’s not that the rest of the world is far, far ahead of England. It’s not like that.”
After defeats to Italy and Uruguay, England will now be playing for pride against Costa Rica in their final game before heading home.
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