Eriksson seeks quick start

Sven-Goran Eriksson might have been dubbed 'Ice Man' for the lack of emotion he showed during his England days - but the new Manchester City manager has revealed he will be as nervous as anyone when his team runs out at West Ham on Saturday.

With eight new signings, none of whom have any Premier League experience, and only a month to prepare, Eriksson realises there is an element of unknown about his team. But, after almost seven years out of the day-to-day club environment, the Swede cannot wait to get started.

"I will be nervous," he said. "You can feel the fact the games are about to start. I will be able to get up on Monday and count the points everyone has got. "

He added: "I always said the only thing I missed about being an international manager was the daily work with the players. Now I am here and ready to go, so I am extremely happy about it."

With the search continuing for a senior goalkeeper to relieve the burden on England Under-21 international Joe Hart and a stalled pursuit of midfielder Mark Bresciano to revive, Eriksson feels it will be the end of the month before he can start to set targets for his first season in English club management.

However, after five-and-a-half seasons with England, Eriksson has been around long enough to know how much of a positive impact a fast start can have on the entire campaign, which is why he is not giving his squad a settling-in period.

"There has been a bit of a revolution here," he said. "The biggest challenge in bringing so many players in is to make them work together as a team as quickly as possible.

"Of course, it will take time to find our best team and our fans will have to be patient.

"But we still need to make a quick start because beginning well could be the difference between three, four, or five league positions at the end of the season."