Gareth Southgate has been urged to block out those criticising his tactics as he prepares his England squad for their opening game of the World Cup.
The Three Lions boss has come under fire for his defensive tactics since England lost the Euro 2020 final to Italy. Southgate has become renowned for his safety-first approach, especially at major tournaments, over the course of his reign.
That has drawn criticism from some pundits who have highlighted the attacking options at his disposal. But Sven-Goran Eriksson has urged Southgate to stick to his plan, which has led to the best period of success for England since they won the World Cup in 1966.
"Southgate, he has a lot of experience now from international football, on the highest, highest level. He's been doing great without winning the final, final step. Maybe it's just time that they do it together now," he told Mirror Football .
"You know when you start a tournament, you have three games, you are in or you are out after them. Now, the first game is against Iran. If they should not win that game the pressure will be enormous for the second game against the United States.
"On paper, England is better than all three of these countries. But you know Iran is not bad, Carlos Quieroz tactically is very, very good, decent coach. The United States, you know you are going into a fight because they are born fighters.
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"And then Wales, Wales is a big enemy. So I can understand if you don't want to attack, attack, attack. Because, you can't afford to lose the first game, that creates a huge problem. If you win the first game, then you can maybe play more offensively."
Eriksson was in charge of the Three Lions for five years between 2001 and 2006, taking his side to two World Cup quarter-finals. And he admitted that he felt under pressure to take a more attacking approach to games because of pressure from critics.
"The critics many times say, 'Why don't you attack?' I remember especially in 2002 when we were knocked out by Brazil in the quarter-finals and after the game, the press told me, 'Why don't you attack, Sven?'" Eriksson added.
"But to attack, you have to have the ball and we couldn't get the ball off them. So you can't attack without the ball. So that's the critics and I suppose whatever Southgate's doing there will be some critics.
"That's following the job. I tried to do it my way or our way, I mean I have the last decision about who's going to play but I have a whole staff, coaching staff which I of course listened to and we shared opinions.
"But outside that, no, you cannot do that, you cannot think about what the press will say or what the people will say. No, you have to do it your way."
Sven-Göran Eriksson surprised fans at a Toshiba watchparty, after research found 45% of fans plan to watch this winter’s tournament on TV from home – with more than one in ten set to pick up a new TV ready for the football. See more @ToshibaTVEurope.
