County complete Eriksson coup

Sven Goran Eriksson last night agreed to join Notts County as director of football, the League Two club succeeding in attracting the former England manager on a salary understood to be worth £40,000 a week.

The Independent revealed yesterday the extraordinary coup that the club's owner, the Switzerland-based Munto Finance consortium, was attempting to pull off by bringing Eriksson into a directorial role with a coach working under him, at club that finished 19th in League Two last season.

The County chairman Peter Trembling last night said: "We have taken the first major step in building our team of experienced and committed people by appointing Sven and Tord Grip. Sven and his team join us with an unrivalled football pedigree. Their knowledge of the game and contacts throughout the football world will significantly enhance Notts County's prospects."

Eriksson, who has been out of work since being sacked by Mexico in April, said: "I am particularly attracted to this role and the unique opportunity to help build a club over the longer-term. I will be responsible for all aspects of the football side of the Club and in line with the aspirations of the new owners, wish to build the Club at the heart of the community.

"I started my football management career at a small lower division Swedish club and we managed to get them into the top-flight," Eriksson added. "I can think of no better challenge than to attempt to do that again."

It is understood that the current County manager, Ian McParland, will keep his job, with Eriksson working as a director of football overseeing the 10-year development plans that Munto has in place to drag England's oldest Football League club out of the bottom division of English professional football.

The 10-year plan also impressed Eriksson during his tour of Meadow Lane last week. The move marks an extraordinary turn of fortune for a manager, now aged 61, who had only just stood down at Manchester City this time last year, but there are signs that County are about to emerge from the doldrums. None of the six players McParland has been able to bring in this summer has incurred a transfer fee, though each is experienced and four have captained their previous sides.