England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson will stumble into next Thursday's crucial FA board meeting knowing bookies' favourite Alan Curbishley has already been cleared to replace him.

If Eriksson was expecting any sympathy as he battles to clear his name over the PR shambles that accompanied his affair with FA secretary Faria Alam, he is not getting it.

With the League Managers' Association keeping well out of a dispute they believe has caused more damage to the national game, only trusted assistant Tord Grip has so far spoken out on his behalf.

On the other side, former England international Phil Neal has already called for Eriksson to be sacked, while Curbishley, unwilling to discuss the Swede's position after spending the last fortnight on a pre-season tour in China, did claim the intense intrusion into his private life that the England coach finds so distressing should be an accepted part of his £4m-a-year job.

But it's Charlton director Derek Ufton who has really upped the ante, claiming their long-serving manager would be free to quit The Valley should the FA come calling.

''If the England job came along and Alan felt it was the right thing, I am sure everybody at the club would be delighted for him,'' SAID Ufton. ''He would do a marvellous job for the country.''

That only intensifies the pressure on Eriksson, who is due to meet Thompson next week ahead of Thursday's special meeting on the 12-man executive board which is expected to determine his fate.

In the wake of the statement issued by Thompson that exonerated chief executive Mark Palios from any blame for the 'misleading statements' about Eriksson's relationship with Alam yet failed to make any mention of the Swede himself, it is widely anticipated that if the 56-year-old is found to have lied over the issue, he will be charged with gross misconduct and probably sacked. That could give the FA a way round their dilemma of knowing Eriksson is entitled to a massive £14m pay-off as part of the four-year contract extension he signed last April.