Ex-lover: Eriksson may not last long as England's coach
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-08-11 06:14

Sven-Goran Eriksson should watch his back because his bosses want to get rid of him, the woman whose affair with England's national soccer coach has dominated the headlines said on Monday.

Former Football Association (FA) secretary Faria Alam, 38, told ITV in an interview that FA bosses asked her to divulge details of her affair with Eriksson to newspapers in return for them ignoring her earlier fling with FA boss, Mark Palios.

Palios has already resigned and tabloid newspapers have reported Alam's affair with the 56-year-old Swedish coach Eriksson in salacious detail.

Her eyes brimming with tears, Alam said she still loved Eriksson but did not think he felt the same way.

"I wish him luck... But I don't know if they will want to keep him there that long in light of all this," she said.

The FA, which initially denied Eriksson had an affair with Alam but later confirmed it, investigated whether the coach had misled its officials but last week cleared him of wrongdoing.

Alam said FA chiefs had offered her a deal - tell a Sunday newspaper of her interlude with Eriksson, so that in return the media would keep Palios' name out of the coverage. Afterwards, she could keep her job or leave with money at a later date.

She refused and told Eriksson who was "absolutely shocked".

"They were hanging him out to dry," Alam said.

English football's ruling body is scrambling to retain its credibility after the clumsy handling of the case.

Commentators say senior members at the association saw an opportunity to rid themselves of the highly-paid Eriksson - who came under fire for his team's poor showing at Euro 2004 in June - but messed it up.

Alam has already quit her job and taken offers to sell her story to the papers. Media reports say public relations guru Max Clifford has secured her 500,000 pounds (US$920,500) for speaking out.

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