Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has told the Daily Telegraph Roy Hodgson would have been sacked for the nation's World Cup exit had he been a foreigner.
- Gerrard undecided on England future
- Hodgson retains enthusiasm to continue
The Football Association has confirmed Hodgson will remain in charge despite the Three Lions' premature exit in Brazil just two games into the group stage.
But Eriksson, who departed in 2006 having reached the quarterfinals in three major tournaments with England, insists he would not have been so fortunate.
He said: "I know for sure if that had been me, I would have been sacked at once. If he were foreign, he would be sacked. I'm quite sure about that."
However, Eriksson, who said he would like a second chance to manage England, feels the FA is right to stick with Hodgson.
He said: "If they don't want me back, keep Hodgson. He's good. I would come back at once, of course. But that will not happen.''
Hodgson himself told a news conference on Sunday that he was thrilled to receive the backing from FA chairman Greg Dyke, while he feels the future is bright for England.
"I am very pleased of course that Greg and the board have come out and backed me to continue," he said. "We are midway through a term, there's lot of work to be done, but I think we are on a good path. I am very pleased I am going to be the man leading [the team].''
He added: "It means a lot because the job means a lot to me. It's a fantastic job, it's a privilege to have it. I am very pleased to have had that backing. Scapegoats are always necessary in times of failure, one understands that. But one would like to think the work that you do is judged over a long period of time.''
Meanwhile, former England striker Gary Lineker thinks Hodgson made an error with his tactics at the World Cup.
"Personally, I think Roy got it wrong,'' Lineker told Blahzil.com. "The system that suits this kind of England better, with the lack of experience in it, is probably a 4-3-3.
"He tried to just play with two players in the centre of midfield. In the first game I thought it was better because he had [Raheem] Sterling behind [Daniel] Sturridge, and that gave us three because Sterling is more of a natural midfield player, certainly than [Wayne] Rooney. But I just think it is too big an ask for just two central midfield players and once again we were outnumbered.
"The problem with this 4-2-3-1 is that it very quickly becomes a 4-4-2 or at least a 4-4-1-1 and we end up with flat lines and people getting between us. I think we would have been better, and I said this before the tournament, with three midfield players because you've got to give yourself a chance defensively.''
Lineker also had criticism for England captain Steven Gerrard, saying his organisation skills were not up to scratch in Brazil.
"Steven Gerrard, wonderful player that he is, has always been an individual in many ways,'' he said. "He's not really a player that can organise or spot problems. He didn't spot the danger on England's left side in the first game [against Italy], which was pretty obvious after a few attempts.
"We don't have the players who can spot something and deal with it. In my era we had Terry Butcher, Ray Wilkins and Bryan Robson -- players who could spot problems on the pitch and that is something that is missing from this crop.''