Being out of work was awful, says Sven (who took £3.5m from the FA for doing nothing)

At times Eriksson's debut press conference at the City of Manchester Stadium seemed more like an inquisition under oath than a question and answer session about football.

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Were you a failure with England? Can you restore your reputation? Did you lie to your agent? Will Nancy live with you in Manchester? Can you keep out of the news pages? Are you comfortable working for a former Thai politician?

It was all rather serious stuff at times but it has to be said that Eriksson dealt with all the fuss rather well.

He may have lacked inspiration as England coach but the 59-year-old was rarely found wanting for charm and yesterday he poured it on by the bucketful.

His time in charge of the national team never once stressed him, he claimed yesterday, but his subsequent year out of football had been harder to take.

"Nobody can doubt my hunger, absolutely not," he said. "Especially when you think that I have been out of football for one year.

"That has been the most stressful time of my life. Not sitting on the bench as a coach has been very stressful. Waking up every morning knowing that I was not working is something I had never done before. That was awful.

"I feel much better working than when I am not and I feel very happy today. This is a big club and a fantastic opportunity for me."

Eriksson's failure to take England beyond the quarter-finals in three major tournaments will perhaps forever tarnish his reputation in the eyes of many, as will his behaviour away from the field.

Indeed, he seemed in denial yesterday about his six years in charge of the national team. "Did I really do that badly with England?" asked the Swede with a raise of the eyebrows.

"A lot has been written about me. Some of it has been fair, a lot of it has not. But I am not going to change. England is history now. If I start thinking about all the things recent times then I would never sleep at night.

"I am certainly not here for revenge. I know what I have done during my career and I am happy. I am here to do a good job for Manchester City and I want to be judged on that."

It is true that neither former City chairman John Wardle nor his chief executive Alistair Mackintosh would have chosen Eriksson to succeed Stuart Pearce before the £90million takeover of the club that was completed yesterday lunchtime by former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Eriksson's appointment is risk-laden and may yet backfire in spectacular fashion.

But it is not too long ago that Manchester United and Chelsea courted Eriksson, while before he took over at the FA he had just won the Serie A title with Lazio.

Take away his failures on the world and European stages and Eriksson's pedigree is more than decent. Now it is up to him to impose that on a club that has not won a trophy for 31 years.

"I don't know if I have to prove myself," he said. "I have not worked in the Premier League before. If you think I have to prove myself then that is up to you.

"I am just looking forward to an exciting job at an exciting club. This is a big club.

"Many footballers around the world would like to come and play here. The Premier League is the best in the world and this is a huge challenge for me."

Eriksson has been promised as much as £50m to spend as he looks to shape City into a team fit to challenge for the European places.

Already on his list of transfer targets are Middlesbrough centre forward Yakubu, another Nigerian centre forward John Utaka of Rennes, Toulouse's Swedish striker Johan Elmander and Borussia Dortmund midfielder Stephen Pienaar.

The next month will certainly be critical for City and, quite rightly, Eriksson's ambitions are high.

City's training ground backs on to United's and so Eriksson's old foe Sir Alex Ferguson will be within spitting distance.

Can Eriksson really build a squad to match United's?

"It will be good to see him," said Eriksson with a smile.

"At least this time I won't constantly be asking to take his players away from him. Not for free anyway!

"It is good to have that challenge and let us work towards the very top. It will not happen in the first year but that is where I want to aim for."

Eriksson's appointment has not been greeted with universal enthusiasm among City supporters but yesterday's performance will not have done his cause any harm.

Eriksson has always had a thick skin and he will need it. So, for that matter, will Manchester City.