Sven tells TheFA.com how he harnesses player power to benefit....

Sven-Goran Eriksson has revealed that harnessing player power forms an integral part of his management technique.

In men like David Beckham, Rio Ferdinand and Michael Owen, Sven manages some of the highest profile young men in the country as a whole, never mind the arena of football.

And, as he explains in an exclusive interview with TheFA.com, Sven consciously takes a progressively modern approach to the way in which he handles the modern international.

Involving players in the decision-making process and asking their opinions on tactics and plans are some of the ways that Sven is able to harness the will of the players to ensure they are united behind their mutual cause - England.

Indeed, for a man who has made his own investigations and analyses into the role that psychology plays in sport, such methods, though highly significant, are deemed to be simple common sense.

"I think it's important now and in the future," Sven says of his discussions with his players - a process which saw him issue a questionnaire to all of the World Cup squad to find out exactly what they thought about England's Japanese campaign.

"I am always very happy when a player comes to me with opinions about what we are doing and what we can do," he continues,

"If you have players who are interested in the work, then it makes it easier both for me and for them because they are involved, they participate and they want to be better. I think it's the same in any work that you do today."

You sense that part of Sven's success and significance as a coach is the way in which he appeals to his players on a mental level. While managers of yesteryear may at times have relied on either fear or sheer enthusiasm to motivate their teams, Sven appeals to the mind and believes that the feet will follow.

"It may have been different in the past but today it's 2003 and people are for more experienced," opines the man who won league titles in Sweden, Portugal and Italy before taking up his post here at Soho Square.

"I see it even in my own children compared to me at the same age," he reflects. 

"The world has changed and I think even as a football manager you have to change with it. I believe in that form of democracy.

"As a player, if you are involved in the decision-making and you like the decision, you do a better job."

Log on to hear more from Sven on TheFA.com during the week as we build up towards his squad announcement here on Saturday night ahead of our big match-up with Australia on next Wednesday night.

Sven was talking to Daniel Freedman

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