The Swede takes his squad into back-to-back qualifiers in Austria and Poland on Saturday and Wednesday under pressure to avoid any slip-ups in the wake of a disappointing Euro 2004.

A common view amongst pundits is that anything less than four points would trigger a fresh crisis over Eriksson's future as the world's best-paid coach.

But as his side gathered in the Hertfordshire countryside to begin their build-up to Saturday's match in Vienna, he appeared relaxed and confident that he could maintain his record of never having lost a qualifier for a major tournament.

"I know the qualification games have gone well for us in the past and I hope that will continue but we have never had an easy qualification game. We have had to fight extremely hard to win all of them,"Eriksson said.

"Why not get six points? If we get less than four points life is more difficult to qualify but no, I don't feel that my job will be in jeopardy if we don't get four points."

Eriksson was in a sufficiently laid-back mode to joke about the prospects of England's World Cup winning rugby coach Clive Woodward switching his focus to football, which is the subject of much media interest at the moment.

When asked if he thought the rugby boss would make a good football coach the Swede joked: "Yes, maybe. Maybe I'm going to rugby. Who knows? There are a lot of people who want my job, the only problem is I have it until 2008."

Eriksson's preparations for the Austria match have been disrupted by Nicky Butt's hamstring injury, which could also rule the Newcastle midfielder out of the Poland game.

With Butt ruled out of the holding role in midfield, Eriksson indicated that Steven Gerrard will be moved back into the centre of midfield alongside Frank Lampard, leaving him with a number of options about who to bring in on the left.

The only naturally left-sided player at Eriksson's disposal is Chelsea left-back Wayne Bridge. Eriksson admitted he was considering playing Bridge in a midfield role but stressed that Kieron Dyer and Joe Cole were also in his plans.

Eriksson must also choose between Manchester United's Alan Smith and Tottenham's Jermain Defoe as a strike partner for Michael Owen, given the absence of the injured Wayne Rooney.

"I have made up my mind but we have training sessions before I make up my mind 100 percent," Eriksson said.

"Smith is a very good target player and is scoring goals this season, which is good to see. Defoe is different; quick, has good technique and is scoring goals."

Eriksson is also without injured centre-backs Sol Campbell and Jonathan Woodgate. Chelsea's John Terry and Tottenham's Ledley King are expected to fill the centre-back positions.

Azerbaijan, Northern Ireland and Wales make up England's qualifying group, from which only the winner will qualify directly for the finals in Germany.