Source: Telegraph
David James wants SvenGoran Eriksson to manage Portsmouth
The Portsmouth goalkeeper worked closely with Eriksson at England and wants the new appointment to be a manager with experience following the ill-fated reign of Tony Adams. [LNB]James admitted that Adams, his former England colleague, "possibly" lacked experience for the job. "It was difficult taking over from Harry," he said. "Harry has that idiosyncratic way of managing, the elixir of confidence he has is difficult to follow. You need a manager with experience and who can organise what is fundamentally a good to side to play decent football. [LNB]"I was hoping when Tony took over that he would be a continuation of what we had with Harry. That didn't materialise. If he [Eriksson] is up for the job then why not? As an England manager, he's the second best I have played under. I mean that as a compliment. With the experience he's got, he commands respect. Somebody of his calibre would be a tremendous acquisition for us. [LNB]"I know we are fighting for Premier League survival but the ethos for the last couple of years has been to have aspirations to be getting into Europe and reaching the Champions League. We need someone as manager who has experience and the same desire."[LNB]Eriksson has indicated that he would prefer to remain with Mexico. The Mexicans say they expect him to lead them into the 2010 World Cup, despite losing 2-0 to the United States in their qualifying group this week.[LNB]Caretaker Paul Hart will take charge for the match against Manchester City tomorrow, with chief executive Peter Storrie predicting that the former Nottingham Forest manager will provide a "steadying hand". [LNB]The match against City is particularly significant for James, who stands to break Gary Speed's all-time Premier League appearance record of 535 matches. [LNB]"It means hell of a lot to me," James said. "Every time Gary Speed has pulled on a shirt in recent seasons the lads have given me a bit of stick. I have been there from the first game [of the Premier League] and the first live Sky game. [LNB]"I have another couple of years with Portsmouth and I hope to go on as long as I can. I am playing in the best domestic league in the world so if you can play in it for 15, 16 years, that must say something. [LNB]"When I signed for Pompey, I was looking at Championship options as well. Portsmouth gave me the opportunity to be in the Premiership and that's why I'm still here with England too."[LNB] [LNB]
