Sven intent on proving worth

Appearances can be deceptive, of course. The prodigal Sven may have returned to his homeland to enjoy a little rest and relaxation with his new charges but there is no doubt the hard work has already begun.

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Eriksson has opted for a central hotel base in this sleepy spa resort on the south-west coast of Sweden. He came here when manager of Lazio and Benfica — and won the double with both.

There is a quiet determination about the 59-year-old Swede, reinforced by a sense of grievance that he was branded a failure as England head coach.

Resurrecting City will not happen overnight, he warns, even with the help of new owner Thaksin Shinawatra's fortune. But Eriksson is plotting his revolution.

First, he has drawn up a shopping list of players, believed to number 50 — one for every million pounds at his disposal.

"You should see the list," he said. "During the last 10 days I don't know how many players we have talked about. Even before breakfast today I was on the phone talking.

"But you can't go to United, Liverpool and Chelsea and buy their best players because they're not for sale.

"Tomorrow we won't have Ronaldo and Ronaldinho but I hope people will say in one or two years that we have superstars.

"Dreams can never be impossible, you can dream whatever you like. The new owner wants to make this club bigger and is willing to invest money to do that. But he told me we will not build the best club in the world in one season."

Swiss midfielder Gelson Fernandes arrived in Sweden yesterday and could make his debut alongside £8.8million striker Rolando Bianchi in tonight's friendly against Second Division side Orgryte IS.

They could soon be joined by Brazilian midfielder Geovanni, a former £15m signing for Barcelona, who agreed to join City on a free transfer from Cruzeiro last night, although they have missed out on another former Barca player after Ludovic Giuly opted for Roma yesterday.

More City signings will surely follow but for all Eriksson's attempts to play down expectations even his trusty lieutenant Tord Grip knows Thaksin will not tolerate the kind of season that cost Stuart Pearce his job.

The accusation that Eriksson is a mercenary is one of a few issues that seem to rile the usually implacable coach.

He said: "It has followed me since 1984 when I left Sweden. If you think I don't care about the club or country I work for, that's rubbish. You go in with everything you have to try and win every game.

"I'm not standing on the bench, screaming for 90 minutes, and I will never do that because it's not me. The players would never hear my voice out on the pitch anyway. It's better to call them over. That's my way — it has nothing to do with passion.

"Sometimes when I read things I have to wake myself up because it seems I lost every game for five-and-a-half years. Am I underestimated? In England, maybe."