Eriksson will survive slur

Sven Goran Eriksson has retained FA faith

BBC Sport Online Chief Football Writer Phil McNulty insists Sven Goran Eriksson's reputation remains intact - despite his Lazio trauma.

Sven Goran Eriksson's enemies will use his hasty retreat from Rome as another stick to beat his previously unblemished reputation.

Eriksson is already being painted in some quarters as damaged goods, a coach who has perfected the art of becoming a loser even before taking over as England coach.

And it is true he cannot be painted in the same glowing light that greeted him when he was unveiled as the future of English football at FA headquarters in November.

But if Eriksson was the right man for the job in November, he must remain so in January.

Eriksson will, however, discover an intriguing sub-plot has developed since his appointment - namely the Terry Venables factor.

Venables was heavily trumpeted as the true patriotic candidate when Kevin Keegan quit, but saw his claims ignored, despite a campaign from his fan club.

He is now refurbishing his reputation in charge of Middlesbrough's revival while Eriksson has fallen at Lazio.

To leave a job with a bad result is, I think, the worst thing in life to do, because they will always remember you as a loser

  Sven Goran Eriksson

The reality is that Eriksson was fighting all the odds from the moment his appointment as England coach was leaked.

He would have had to perform miracles to keep his promise to stay at Lazio until the end of the season - and he would have had to do it with a group of players who knew he was not the long-term future at thehir club.

It comes as no surprise that the cloak of uncertainty that hung over Lazio since Eriksson accepted the FA's invitation should finally overwhelm him.

Eriksson himself will need a lift as much as England's players, because his pride will be hurt at having to admit defeat at Lazio.

Lazio's defeat against Napoli at the week-end was their fourth in six matches, and he admitted recently: "No-one wants to finish a job badly. If you know that you are going to finish your job in six months, then you want to finish well.

"To leave a job with a bad result is, I think, the worst thing in life to do. They will always remember you as a loser."

If that is the verdict Lazio's volatile support deliver on the reign of Sven Goran Eriksson, then it is a harsh one.

He secured their first title in 22 years last season, and that was only the latest addition to an impressive c.v.

Eriksson has won titles in Sweden, Portugal and Italy, and has an impressive knowledge of the English game.

He was a great student of the Liverpool sides of the seventies and eighties, and was even invited into the famous Anfield bootroom by former boss Joe Fagan.

Eriksson may have had two months he will want to forget at Lazio - but this does not remove the qualities the FA saw when they made him their top choice.