Sven-G?ran Eriksson will no doubt do his utmost to keep the blood from his manicured hands, but there is an increasing sense of a managerial cull in the offing around Meadow Lane.
Ian McParland cuts an incongruous figure among the sharp suits and Middle Eastern investment that has come with clear demands for success. This result will not have helped his chances of surviving beyond the optimistic target of October that many observers predicted once the Swede arrived as director of football.
While Eriksson smiles his trademark smile and offers the glad hand to everyone who turns up in the directors’ box at Meadow Lane, beneath the veneer of charm there is an increasingly irascible manager in the shape of McParland. According to close friends,