Could European qualification see Sven stay at Manchester City?

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The Blues, who discovered on Friday that they will play in the UEFA Cup next season courtesy of the fair play table, opened their post-season promotional tour of Asia with a 3-1 loss to Thailand Premier All-Stars in Bangkok yesterday.

Uneasy partnership: Sven Goran Eriksson and Thaksin Shinawatra

It was an embarrassing defeat in what could prove to be the penultimate match in Eriksson's season-long reign as a Barclays Premier League boss.

Speculation has engulfed the former England manager with club owner Thaksin Shinawatra conducting a review of the club which is set to be complete late next week at the earliest.

Eriksson has remained tight-lipped on his dealings with former Thai prime minister Thaksin - with the club declining to reveal if the duo had met for discussions in Bangkok - but yesterday he was happy to smile and describe their relationship as "good".

However, Thaksin's mood is likely to have been soured by the defeat to the All-Stars - a representative side who had been training together for just one week - after an elaborate effort to entice Thai fans to adopt his club.

Thaksin opened a club store in Bangkok on Friday and reiterated his desire to turn City into a global brand, but the 65,000-capacity Rajamangala Stadium was sparsely populated during the so-called 'Super Match'.

However, despite City's failure to win the exhibition match, the UEFA Cup berth could yet earn Eriksson a reprieve as manager, coming one year ahead of Thaksin's previously outlined schedule.

"The news about the UEFA Cup was extremely good news for the club," said Eriksson.

City could retain a number of first-team regulars previously linked with moves - like England international Micah Richards - and attract further talent with the lure of European football at Eastlands.

"For the club to attract new players it's easier when we're playing in Europe, obviously," added Eriksson.

However, the 60-year-old declined to reveal if the news had afforded him the opportunity to reassess his transfer options.

"There is a lot of time to talk about that," he added. "There is a lot of time until next year."