Under-fire England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has received backing from Alan Shearer, former captain of the national team.
Although Shearer was critical of England’s performance in their 1-0 win over Austria on Saturday, accusing them of lacking “adventure and enthusiasm”, he believes the treatment of Eriksson in some sections of the media is unfair.
The Newcastle striker says the accusations that the England coach does not show enough passion are irrelevant.
“That’s the way he manages. He was like that when he was appointed and he won’t change so people shouldn’t complain,” Shearer told BBC Five Live.
“A manager should be judged on results and he has guided us to the World Cup finals as he said he would do.
“I don’t think confidence is particularly high and you can see that in the performances.
“Hopefully now with the objective achieved, the players will relax a bit and you might see more style and flair.”
Eriksson spoke optimistically about England’s chances at next year’s finals, although his remarks were given short shrift by the media following recent defeats to Denmark and Northern Ireland.
However, support for Eriksson within the squad remains high with Wayne Rooney the latest player to talk up England’s chances at next summer’s finals.
He said: “I think we have got a great chance. This squad is better than the one that went to Portugal.
“We’ve got a good squad, with some of the best players in the world. It’s a younger squad than at Euro 2004 and that can only be good for us in the World Cup.
“I was gutted when I was injured in the quarter-finals of Euro 2004 against Portugal and had to come off.
“But that’s made me even more determined to do well in Germany.”
