SVEN-GORAN ERIKSSON came out fighting last night and insisted his job is safe as he approached England's Euro 2004 moment of truth.

Turkey coach Senol Gunes cranked up the pressure on Eriksson when he claimed the Swede could be sacked if England lost this evening's pivotal qualifier at Sunderland.

But after mounting criticism of his performance as England's £3m-a-year supremo since the World Cup, Eriksson laughed off the suggestion that his future is at stake on Wearside.

He said: "I don't feel under pressure to keep my job. Absolutely not. I'm not at all worried about what the Turkey coach said. Maybe he wants the job!

"In that case, there would be two people who would want it because I want to keep it.

"In life, people are very pessimistic; they always talk about, 'What if?' But why should we worry about things that might never happen?

"That's a waste of energy. I never think, 'What if we lose?' I refuse to think in that way. Why should we lose?"

Eriksson will not bow to public pressure to grant Wayne Rooney his first England start after two substitute appearances in the last seven weeks, against Australia and Liechtenstein.

Instead, he will give Emile Heskey - who has scored just one international goal since September 2001 - another opportunity alongside Michael Owen.

In a poll conducted in the wake of Saturday's unconvincing 2-0 win in Liechtenstein, 83 per cent of England fans wanted 17-year-old Rooney to displace Heskey in the line-up tonight.

And during training yesterday Owen was paired with Rooney as much as he was with his club colleague, indicating that the Swede would not be afraid to blood the teenager at an early stage if things were not going England's way. But while Eriksson was non-committal yesterday, he will resist the temptation to deploy the precocious Everton striker from the kick-off at the Stadium of Light.

He said: "You will have to wait until just before the game to see if I am in the 83 per cent or the 17 per cent.

"Wayne is in the squad, and he was not one of the players who I sent to the Under-21s. That means he's available.

"But whatever team I pick, I should never think about public opinion because you have to be convinced yourself that it is the right thing to do. If I'm convinced, I do it. And if it's according to public opinion or not, it doesn't matter. I can't listen to anybody."

Kieron Dyer is still expected to be replaced in midfield tonight by Nicky Butt, as Northern Echo Sport revealed yesterday.

Clearly, Eriksson believes Butt's steel will be a crucial addition to England's team against Turkey's talented quartet of Tugay, Emre, Okan and Yildiray Basturk.

He said: "Turkey have four very good football players in midfield. They can play one or two-touch football, they have good vision and they're physically strong.

"They can also make some very good forward runs and they are the heart of the Turkey team.

"Turkey are very good at keeping the ball; they keep possession extremely well. We will have to play very well and work hard to get the ball. We need to be very aware of those things, and we've already talked about it on the pitch and in the video room."

England captain David Beckham maintains there is no shortage of leaders in the squad, despite their relative lack of experience.

The lack of a Tony Adams-like character has been pinpointed as a major problem with the current team. But Beckham said: "I won't change my way of leadership, to be honest. I've never been one of those who do what people like Tony Adams and Paul Ince did.

"Five years ago, there might have been a different changing room; it would have been a lot louder. But things have changed, and a lot of young players have come into the team who don't need to be shouted at.

"I think the balance between youth and experience is right. We've got a lot of talented youngsters but we've got the experience of Sol Campbell, Gareth Southgate and me." Beckham, who has scored in all three of England's Euro 2004 qualifiers, believes the hostile North-East crowd could tip the balance in the hosts' favour.

He said: "I said when we played at Newcastle in 2001 that the atmosphere would be electric, and it was.

"The fans got right behind us and we got the result we wanted.

"We all know how passionate the fans are up here. Even when I play here for Manchester United, they clap you if they lose, and I clap them back."