"I am happy to be back in England and to be one of the managers in the Premier League. It is the best league in world today. If you want to compete with other managers, coaches at the highest level, you need to be in Premier League."

Eriksson has made a raft of new signings since arriving in the summer but it is one home-grown player who has been outstanding. Micah Richards, 19, is set to cap a great week by being named captain as Richard Dunne is suspended.

Eriksson gave a hint by stating: "It is going to be a very, young captain. That's all I can tell you." Richards gave mature displays in England's victories against Israel and Russia in crucial back-toback Euro 2008 qualifiers. Then he was named player of the month to complete a remarkable double for City.

"Micah has been fantastic. He has shown incredible form for us. Not only that, he is scoring goals for England as well. I have to say congratulations to him."

Eriksson himself received public backing during the week, from none other than his opposing manager today, Martin O'Neill. The Villa boss insists Eriksson is capable of turning City into a major force in England, and is a big admirer of the Swede's record in European football prior to his spell with the English national side.

"Sven's reputation as a club manager is very good indeed. He got picked for the England job on the strength of his club record. He's now gone into Manchester City and they have obviously got big trust in him because he's been allowed to spend freely and big to get players in as befits a club the size of City.

"There's no question that when they all settle down there, they will be a force to be reckoned with and you feel the new owner will be putting more money in as well."

Villa have a poor record against City but O'Neill feels they are starting to believe in themselves, especially after the impressive 2-0 home win against Chelsea a fortnight ago.

"The most important thing is that the players are starting to believe in themselves. After the Liverpool game on the opening day, I did make the point to them that maybe I had a bit more belief in them than they had in themselves.

"But belief comes from playing well . . .and winning . . . we were able to achieve both against Chelsea. Because it was Chelsea, it was highlighted but we have to try and achieve that level of performance on a consistent basis. If we can, we can definitely be a handful for opponents.

"The players are improving and they feel they are capable of coping. That's the big thing. The Villa fans would want the side to improve rapidly. It might not happen as quickly as that but I think the next few weeks will probably determine what sort of side we are."

O'Neill now has an abundance of midfield talent at his disposal and he left his first major signing, Stiliyan Petrov, out of the Chelsea side after poor form.

But he is confident the Bulgarian will bounce back and recapture the belief and confidence currently evident in new England hero Gareth Barry and some of his other Villa team-mates.

"I read that Stiliyan is ready to fight for his place and I welcome that type of response. It would be the type of response I would expect from Stiliyan having known him for many years.

"He became a big player at Celtic . . . at domestic and European level . . . but he was still left out of a few games. He battled to get into the side then and I expect to see the same from him again at Villa.

"I've no doubts that when Stiliyan gets complete confidence back in himself, he will roar back and show everyone the player he really is."

As Eriksson hopes to get City back on track after two defeats and live up to O'Neill's praise, he will hope Petrov at least waits one more week.