The former England boss has kept a low profile in the build-up to Sunday's Barclays Premier League trip to Liverpool, while club owner Thaksin Shinawatra reportedly puts the finishing touches to his summer pay-off.

But Eriksson has already been linked with a move away, most notably to one of his previous clubs, Benfica, whom Portuguese media claim want him to replace Jose Antonio Camacho.

"The door is not closed on Benfica," Eriksson's agent Athole Still told O Jogo.

"The question of money is important. He may have been contacted indirectly. If any club wish to talk with Eriksson, they must call me."

Meanwhile, Eriksson has done his best to shrug off the speculation and perhaps put Thaksin in a more difficult position by winning the last two matches of a promising season, starting at Anfield.

Quoted in the Manchester Evening News, Eriksson said: "We are all professionals and we must concentrate on the two games we have left to play.

"It is strange to have two away games to finish and they are both difficult matches but I am sure we are going to produce good performances in both those matches.

"If we will win or not at Liverpool, you never know because they are a top side but all those fans that travel to see us play at Anfield and all those watching back home will see a good performance.

"The players are determined. There are certainly no signs in training that they have packed their bags for their summer holiday. They did excellent sessions earlier this week and playing Liverpool is always special.

"There will be days of speculation, I am sure, but we must be focused on winning matches."

Eriksson is expecting better news on the injury front, with Richard Dunne set to ease the defensive problems by returning from the hamstring strain which ruled him out of the defeat to Fulham.

But Micah Richards is expected to remain on the sidelines with his knee injury.

Eriksson said: "He's getting better all the time but if there's a small risk for him to get injured again, we shouldn't risk that."

Spanish left-back Javi Garrido has returned to training, while Bulgarian Valeri Bojinov is also fully involved, although neither player is expected to be match-fit to face Rafael Benitez's men.