Just over 12 months after England crashed out of the World Cup quarter-finals in Germany, Eriksson is back, signing a three-year contract to lead City into the promised land under new owner Thaksin Shinawatra.

Although Eriksson described his break as the most 'stressful' time of his life, despite picking up a reported £13,000-a-day from the Football Association, the 59-year-old is anxious to use the gap to draw a line under his time in charge of the England national side.

Yet, despite the widespread feeling he ended life with the Three Lions as a failure, the Swede does not believe he has any need to reproach himself.

"Did I really do such a bad job?" he questioned.

"I know what I did with England and no-one can take that away.

"I don't feel any reason to get revenge on people. I am not made like that any way.

"A lot has been written about me. Some of it has been fair, a lot of it has not. But I am not going to change. England is history now. I am here to do a good job for Manchester City and I want to be judged on that."

Rather than squirm at being reminded of the cash he continued to receive from Soho Square as he looked for alternative employment, Eriksson instead felt it was those who had written about it who should feel embarrassed.

His only concern during the past 12 months has been trying to find ways to fill his time.

"I did not want to be out of the game for a year. Going one year without football has been the most stressful time of my life," he said.

"After a month's holiday, waking up in the morning not knowing exactly what to do is awful. I have never done that in my life before.

"I feel much better having football work to do and you can be sure I am 110% committed to this challenge."

Eriksson, who refused to confirm whether long-time partner Nancy Dell'Olio would accompany him to the north-west, conceded a drawn-out takeover saga which prevented him being installed as Stuart Pearce's successor until Thaksin had gained 75% of Blues shares, had not helped his planning for the new campaign.

However, his impact has already been seen in the massive amount of interest in City, both in rising season ticket sales and the number of players being attracted to the club.

After spending just three days at City's Carrington training complex, Eriksson was reluctant to set a target on the number of new faces fans can expect, or where the club will finish next term. But he has promised a change in fortune.

"Most football players in the world would like to play for Manchester City, especially as they know this club is going to get bigger and better," he said.

"It would be stupid to set targets today. I will do that when my squad is in place.

"But, by the time we get to the first game against West Ham, I can promise there will be new faces - and it won't be just one."

One man who will not be arriving though is coach Roland Andersson, who had been widely touted as Eriksson's assistant.

Talks between the pair did take place but in the end, both men decided not to pursue the matter, with Eriksson confirming his number two would be announced early next week.

Long-time confidante Tord Grip will be part of his backroom staff while Eriksson assured those intrigued by the involvement of Jerome Anderson in negotiations over the manager's job that his trusted agent Athole Still, who was in the room, was also still on board.

With a first pre-season fixture at Doncaster looming on July 14, Eriksson is going to have to work fast if he is to get City moving in a forward direction during the new campaign,

However, while he conceded becoming the number one club in Manchester may not happen this year, he is looking forward to locking horns with old adversary Sir Alex Ferguson in the very near future.

"I have not spoken to Sir Alex yet but I am sure I will soon," said Eriksson. "At least I am not taking any players off him this time," he added, referring to Ferguson's notorious reluctance to release United stars for England duty.

"Manchester City has been in the middle of the table for a long time," observed Eriksson.

"But it is a big club that wants to improve, which is why I took the job.

"We have the ambition and we also have the resources, which is very important because, like it or not, in football these days, you need money."