IN TYPICALLY bittersweet circumstances Manchester City discovered last night that they will almost certainly be invited to take part in next season's Uefa Cup barring a rash of red and yellow cards in Sven-Goran Eriksson's final match as manager, at Middlesbrough, tomorrow.
Thaksin Shinawatra, therefore, can start looking forward to the European football he so desperately craves but it will not be enough to save Eriksson, a fact the former England manager acknowledged in melancholic manner yesterday.
While Eriksson, not usually a man to criticise anyone publicly, broke the habit to question Thaksin's knowledge of the game, there was more than a hint of irony about the announcement from Uefa that City are, after all, about to qualify for Europe - cancelling out the very reason why Thaksin had decided to pay him off in the first place.
With the Premier League winning Uefa's fair-play rankings, an extra Uefa Cup place is available and, with one game to go, City are poised to be named as England's representatives through a mixture of their impressive disciplinary statistics and some outstandingly good fortune.
Eriksson's team are not even the best behaved team in the top division but the four clubs above them - Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea - are already assured of Europe, leaving City to squeeze in through the back door.
In ordinary circumstances it would have been cause for great celebration for Eriksson and his players.
Yet these, of course, are not ordinary circumstances and there was a slightly surreal atmosphere at the club's training ground, with Eriksson saying the first of his goodbyes, shaking the hands of every journalist present, and club officials preparing for a protest by fans outside the City of Manchester stadium today.
Eriksson's performance was laced with dignity and, at times, good humour, looking round a packed room before questioning whether there would be "more journalists at the Champions League final" and, after being bombarded with questions about his future, exaggeratedly punching the air when a local radio reporter asked the first question, 20 minutes in, about the match at Middlesbrough.
Yet this was a doleful Eriksson, fully aware that Thaksin is trying to replace him with Luiz Felipe Scolari.
"I just have to accept it and see what comes out. It will be Sunday evening, Monday, I suppose," he said.
Eriksson has already spoken to Benfica officials - something he would not discuss - but he made it clear that he would be leaving City against his wishes and, unusually for him, he also spoke out about what he perceives as Thaksin's unrealistic expectations.
"I think it's been a successful season," he said, of his 10 months in charge. "I know perfectly well that we haven't played brilliant football in 37 games but many times we have played very well. It's a new team, a young team and we are on the right side of the table."
Asked whether Thaksin would agree, Eriksson smiled knowingly. "I don't think so," he said. "But it isn't realistic to think we can qualify for the Champions League. We are good but we are not that good.
"We don't have a squad measuring up to Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea or Liverpool. That's a fact and anyone who knows just a little bit about football will agree to that . . . We are more or less where we deserve to be after one year."
Eriksson, who can expect a £1 million payoff, was uncertain about when he would speak to Thaksin - "whenever he wants" he said with a smile - but unequivocal when asked whether he wanted to stay in the game.
"Absolutely. I've been in football as a coach or manager since I was 27. I had one year off [after being sacked as England manager] and that was the worst year of my life. It will be very difficult to keep me out, I promise you." Guardian Service
