Sven-Goran Eriksson 'Honoured' By Scotland Links

By Nigel Philips

Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson says he is "honoured" to have been linked with the Scotland job, although no one has contacted him officially.

According to a report, the 71-year-old has been singled out by the Scottish Football Association over the prospect of taking over the national team.

Eriksson is believed to be one of the leading candidates to succeed Alex McLeish, who left the job in the wake of the 3-0 Euro 2020 qualifying defeat to Kazakhstan and an unconvincing 2-0 win over minnows San Marino.

Speaking to talkSPORT. Eriksson, who was in charge of England between 2001 and 2006, said: "This is absolutely news to me. I never heard about it and I never thought about it.

"It comes out of the blue, so I have no idea, but of course I'm honoured. Scotland is a big job, it's a huge football country.

"Would I speak about it? Yeah, why not. It's not very polite if you don't want to speak to people. But I haven't thought at all about it. We'll see if it's happening, if there's something behind it or not."

Eriksson, who was last in charge of the Philippines, admits he is eager to get back into coaching.

"The passport is saying I am a certain age, but I don't feel it," he said.

"I still like to work, I love football. So, if something interesting comes up, I will go for it.

"There are a lot of people still going at my age and doing well – Roy Hodgson is one of them. I don't feel old and I'm healthy, so I hope to sit on the bench again one day."