Former England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson has claimed Roy Hodgson would have been sacked for his World Cup failure if he had been a foreigner.
The Football Association has confirmed Hodgson will remain in charge despite the national team's premature exit in Brazil just two games into the group stage.
However, Eriksson, who departed in 2006 having reached the quarter-finals in three major tournaments, only to progress no further, insists he would not have been so fortunate.
The 66-year-old Swede told Telegraph Sport: "I know for sure if that had been me, I would have been sacked at once. If he were foreign, he would be sacked. I'm quite sure about that."
However, Eriksson, who admitted he would like a second chance to manage England, said the FA is right to stick with Hodgson.
He said: "If they don't want me back, keep Hodgson. He's good. I would come back at once, of course. But that will not happen."
England arrived in Brazil with expectations back at home as low as they have been in recent years, although still contrived not to fulfil them.
However, Eriksson, currently in charge of Chinese club Guangzhou R&F, cannot understand why optimism was in such short supply.
He said: "I don't know why the expectations are so low today. The expectations in the three tournaments I had the team was the final or semi-final - no other discussions.
"And when we reached the quarter-final, that was not good enough. Today, it seems to be very, very good if you would do this.
"I don't think things have changed, realistically. England has still a very, very good team. It's not that the rest of the world is far, far ahead of England. It's not like that."
But Eriksson did suggest that striker Wayne Rooney, who scored his first World Cup finals goal in the 2-1 defeat by Uruguay, has not been used correctly.
He said: "The best position for Rooney, in my opinion, is second striker.
"I said many years ago, 'Don't kill Rooney - you need him'. I can still say the same thing - you still need him."
Source: PA
