Q. How are preparations going for the game against Sweden?

A. We have some problems playing a friendly game in the middle of The FA Cup, Champions League, UEFA Cup and the Premiership. It started with some phone calls from clubs.

Ashley Cole has a problem and Sol Campbell has had a problem for some time, so I decided to phone up the other managers and ask them if they needed to rest someone else. I have talked to Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, Newcastle and Chelsea.

We will be without Gary Neville, Ashley Cole, Sol Campbell, Paul Scholes, Kieron Dyer, Michael Owen, as well as Rio Ferdinand, while there is a big question-mark over David Beckham. He will come on Monday but it's doubtful whether he plays on Sunday, so we will assess him on Monday. So that's a problem.

Q. What about losing Lampard?

A. That is a blow but maybe, if I'm doing my job right, I should rest him anyway as he's been playing every game for Chelsea and still doing very well. I have changed the squad about 10 times so far.

Q. What are the extent of the injuries?

A. All of those players have small problems. Michael Owen went off with a slight hamstring injury so he might not play this weekend and, if he has that kind of problem, why should I pick him for the Sweden game? I think I should be doing my job very badly if I did that.

Some of those players, I might have picked but I gave the possibility to the managers to take out players if they needed to. I think it's fair and, I'm sorry to say it, it's important that we have the best team, but I understand their situation.

Q. Who is coming in?

The positive side of it is that Jermain Defoe, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Alan Thompson are in the squad. We will also take four goalkeepers. Chris Kirkland is out, even for the summer, so together with Ian Walker coming in, we will have Robert Green from Norwich.

Q.Have you seen him play?

A. No never, but it's good to have a look at him in case something should happen to James, Robinson or Walker. Ray Clemence has seen him many times and we've had good reports about him.

Q. Does this devalue the match?

A. No, I have to see the positive side of it and see new players. Friendly games are always a problem, especially in March and April. I am happy that we don't play in April but the problem is too many games and I understand the managers completely.

Q. There must be a lot of work getting the starting line up correct for matches like this?

A. We won't play the same team as in the first game of the European Championships against France. So, in that sense, the game has no meaning. But the positive side is the chance to see if Defoe, or any other players, are ready or not.

Q. There has been the good news that Jonathan Woodgate is fit?

A. He was fit on Friday morning when I spoke to Sir Bobby Robson. It's very important to see him as he's a very good player.

Q. And Defoe?

A. He always scores and you can't take that away from him. Whether he starts or is on the bench, he is one of those players who is very good to put in. Who knows?

Q: Might Wright-Phillips give you an unpredictable element?

A: Yes maybe. I think he deserves a chance, he is doing well and working very hard. I have seen him a couple of times lately and the scouts always give good reports after every game.

Q: Is it possible that 90 minutes in this match is going to make a difference for these young players, as it seems almost impossible to break into the squad because of all the senior players?

A: You never know how many problems we will have at the end of the season.

Q. If all are fit, how many of the final 23 are you certain about?

A. If I had to pick the best squad today and the tournament was in one week's time, I think I should know exactly who would be in the squad. There might be just one or two decisions to make. But then, when you talk about someone like Ledley King, for instance, he's one who might come in.

Q. Defoe too?

A. Why not? You never know.

Q: Is there a problem with goals - Scholes hasn’t scored for a long time, and while Rooney and Owen are a given, Heskey and Vassell are no longer regulars?

A. I was very happy to see Heskey scoring against Marseille and he played very well. If you talk about Vassell, to be fair to him, he has always done very well for England whenever he has played.

Q: How will it feel to be taking a team back to face Sweden?

A: It will be very good to go back to Gothenburg, I worked there for three-and-a-half years, with many beautiful games. The Ullevi Stadium had a 52,000 capacity but it was a club without money.

The problems were so big that in the winter of 1982, the people in charge had to mortgage their houses to pay for us to go to a training camp before we played Valencia in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup.

Then suddenly we beat Valencia, Kaiserslautern and Hamburg at in front of full houses at home within a few months. So we became the richest club in Sweden!

Q: England haven’t beaten Sweden in a long time, 10 games since 1968. Why is that?

A. Sweden, more or less always, have a good team, with good organisation but it's still an amazing record. It's very stimulating for Sweden to play against England as all Swedes see Premier League games every weekend. It has been like that since I was a child. If you are a Swede, you want to beat a big football country like England.

Q. After the World Cup game you said that teams need to be more direct against them. Is that still the case?

A. If you are passing sideways all the time, they will have 11 players behind the ball so, of course, you must try to break them down quickly.