EURO 2004 Qualifying: Sven-Goran Eriksson insists he has no fear that the contents of Ulrika Jonsson's autobiography could have any effect on his position as England coach.

Jonsson, who had a much-publicised affair with her fellow Swede, has sold the serialisation rights to her book for up to £700,000, a sum usually only paid out for salacious and revelatory details.

An initial interview with the TV celebrity was expected to be published by the Daily Mail overnight, with the first instalment of the serialisation due on the streets just as England play their opening Euro 2004 qualifier in Slovakia tonight (6.30).

While any details about their relationship will no doubt further embarrass the England coach, they should have no relevance to his ability to do his job. However, there is a fear Jonsson will claim to have been told unflattering comments about members of Eriksson's squad or even about his supposed links with the manager's post at Old Trafford.

When asked whether there was anything he could imagine being published that might make him quit his post, the England coach firmly replied: "No." But while being unwilling to discuss the issue any further, he admitted to being ready to "pay the price of the job" and reluctantly added: "What should I be afraid of?

"I have absolutely no idea what is coming out so you can't be afraid of what you don't know will happen. I want to win this game and that's it. I have talked a lot to the players but only about football. I'm sure they are not very interested in my private life. I'm quite sure about that, 100 per cent. I don't think they care at all about that."

Eriksson went on to dismiss the book as "other things which are not that important and shouldn't be that important at all to England fans, the players and the staff".

Eriksson did not seek to blame others for the latest spotlight being cast on his private life, however unfortunate the timing so close to a vital international.

"It might be my own fault, it might be the way things are done in the country I'm working in," he said. "But, yes, it has been about much more outside football than I had expected. As long as I love my job and don't have any complaints to make then I'll go on though.

"It's worth a lot of things to be England coach. I am proud of it and sometimes you have to pay the price of the job. It's like an old football player when he is 35 to 40. One day, he wakes up and says that he can't do it any more. I've never felt that, even though I've been in the game for more than 25 years.

"When the book comes out, maybe I'll be worried, maybe not, but you can't lose sleep or your focus before then. Why don't we wait until we know what's in the book rather than talking about something which we don't know anything about?"

That may have been wishful thinking, but unless Eriksson has betrayed his players' or employers' confidences - and that would certainly be out of character - it will inevitably be results which govern his future rather than his romances.

If England do not beat Slovakia, more damage will be done to his reputation than Jonsson could manage in all but the worst-case scenario.