FORGET four-leaf clovers or crossed fingers to boost England's Euro 2004 chances.

Staff at npower's office in Thornaby, Teesside, have turned Swedish in honour of Sven Goran Eriksson dubbing it the "Sven" Shui initiative.

Staff have adopted a number of Swedish themes, including wearing Sven masks, learning Swedish massage during their break, eating traditional Swedish food for lunch and listening to Abba's greatest hits.

And judging by England's thumping 3-0 win over Switzerland last night, it is starting to pay off.

A spokesman said: "Employees have been really creative with their energies coming up with the idea, so it's great to see everyone really supporting the 'Sven Shui' initiative."

* England fanatic Paul Egan has transformed his garage into a makeshift pub for Euro 2004.

Paul, 40, of Osbaldwick in York has installed a giant 6ft screen in his outhouse, and even built a bar in the corner to serve up hand-pulled beers during games.

More than 50 of his mates cram into the garage to watch the matches and Paul has now laid down turf so it has the smell and feel of a soccer pitch.

"My wife, Angela, and I had the idea about a year ago and thought it would be a great place to watch the matches," said Paul.

"It's a fantastic atmosphere in the garage. We threw a huge party for the England game against France and people said it was the best they had ever been to."

Paul's friends from abroad have even flown over to watch the games in the garage, including people from Turkey, Denmark, Serbia and Norway.