Sad Sven suffers eight-goal rout by Middlesbrough

"I hope to speak to him as soon as I have finished here,' he said. 'I don't know where he is, but he is not here. To live in the unsecure is not good. I have had no answer, yet."

Eriksson did little however, to strengthen the argument for his survival in a crushing defeat to Middlesbrough. Goodness only knows what Shinawatra's reaction was when word reached him of yesterday's scoreline.

Gareth Southgate's side had not managed more than two goals in any game all season, yet their destruction of insipid City was relentless, aided as it was by the dismissal of Richard Dunne after just 15 minutes. The sending off was unfortunate, the defender inadvertently clipping the heels of Tuncay slightly inside the visitors' penalty area as the Turkish forward bore down on Andreas Isaksson's goal. As the last defender, Phil Dowd adjudged it a red card offence and Manchester City's off-field uncertainty manifested itself into a Barclays Premier League humiliation.

Disinterest and apathy reigned amongst a set of players who certainly appear resigned to the upheaval of a new manager and a new regime. Only off-field was there fight, where those same Manchester City supporters were involved in ugly scenes, clashing with police in the closing stages of defeat.

Their mood however, was initially convivial. It must have transgressed from the generosity of those players who will play in Europe next season through a Fair Play award. Dunne's dismissal did at least not affect that rare ray of sunshine, but once the talismanic centre half went, the demolition began.

Stewart Downing opened the floodgates when he tucked away the resulting penalty and until the 37th minute, City were brittle, but theoretically still in the game. Then Afonso Alves finished off a sweeping Middlesbrough move. Still, the floodgates had not been breached. Even when Downing produced a delightful, angled volley with the outside of his left foot, Erkisson believed his side were in the game. He did concede it was for the last time. City at that point, bluntly, gave up. Two minutes later a fourth arrived when Alves, sent through by Julio Arca, chipped Isaksson and despite the keeper's touch, the ball still rolled in. It was a day to forget for the Swede, who was arguably and bizarrely, his side's best player. He could do nothing about the fifth when substitute Adam Johnson's shot took a deflection off the hapless Michael Ball.

That was in the 70th minute and 10 minutes later came number six, and it was the pick of the lot. Fabio Rochemback is expected to leave the Riverside Stadium this summer, most likely for Sporting Lisbon, but his potential parting shot was a 30-yard rocket that had too much power for Isaksson to stop.

It would have been a fitting finish but there was more to come. Five minutes later Jeremie Aliadere, another substitute, made it seven with a neat finish and there was still time for an excellent strike from Elano that deserved a better scoreline. Amongst the mayhem it was easy to forget that the 90th minute empty net goal from Alves completed his hat-trick, as well as the rout.

"You can use whatever word you will today and I would probably agree," added Eriksson. "We did not have the mental strength to come back. It was a bad day. I have no excuses at all."

Not since 1950 have Middlesbrough supporters seen their side score eight at home in England's top division. Little wonder they lapped it up.

"It was a mad day really, wasn't it?" said Southgate. "There's no point me saying too much because you're only going to write about Sven!

"If you have done the job they (Sven and Tord Grip) have done, you can walk away with your head held high. Perhaps it is a situation you are better off out of."

Middlesbrough: Schwarzer, Young, Riggott, Wheater, Pogatetz, Boateng, Rochemback, Arca, Downing, Sanli, Alves.

Subs: Turnbull, Aliadiere, Johnson, Taylor, McMahon.

Man City: Isaksson, Jihai, Corluka, Dunne, Ball, Ireland, Gelson, Petrov, Garrido, Vassell, Mwaruwari. Subs: Hart, Elano, Hamann, Castillo, Caicedo.

Referee: Phil Dowd (Staffordshire)