MICHAEL Owen last night dismissed any suggestion of a rift in the England camp ahead of Saturday's crucial World Cup qualifier with Austria and insisted Sven-Goran Eriksson retained the support of each and every member of his squad.

The Swede's position was called into question last month after a humiliating 1-0 defeat in Northern Ireland left England needing maximum points from their final two qualifying games in order to reach next summer's finals in Germany.

As if the embarrassment of losing at Windsor Park was not bad enough, Eriksson was also forced to fend off accusations of disharmony among his players.

A number of senior figures were said to be deeply unhappy at his switch to an ill-conceived five-man midfield, while Wayne Rooney was alleged to have hurled obscenities at both David Beckham and Steve McClaren during a heated half-time break.

Eriksson has already promised to revert to a 4-4-2 system at Old Trafford this weekend, despite Rooney's suspension robbing him of one of his most potent attacking threats.

And, as he prepares to link up with his international team-mates in training later today, Owen has quashed any talk of an unhappy camp hindering England's preprations.

"There has been a lot written about supposed disharmony in the dressing room, but nothing could be further from the truth," said the Newcastle striker, who is already well on the way to recovering from the dead leg that kept him out of the weekend's goalless draw at Portsmouth.

"This is a tight squad, with a firm belief in ourselves, in Sven Goran Eriksson, and in the coaching staff.

"The players are fully behind the manager. His record in competitive games is outstanding and people seem to have forgotten that the defeat against Northern Ireland was his first in a qualifier for over four years.

"Perhaps we have got used to a certain level of success under Sven. I have not changed my belief that he is the right man to lead us to Germany and achieve success there.

"Team spirit will be important over the coming days. Rest assured, it is as strong as ever."

Spirit will count for little, though, if England perform as wretchedly as they did in Belfast four weeks ago.

Eriksson's side hardly created a chance after Beckham's first-half free-kick struck the woodwork, with Owen failing to threaten Maik Taylor's goal after David Healy's opener had rocked the visitors.

The former Liverpool and Real Madrid striker looked understandably ring-rusty just eight days after completing his multi-million pound move to St James' Park and is desperate to make amends.

"I have been impatient for these matches to come along since the defeat to Northern Ireland," said Owen.

"This is our chance to put things right and I am confident we will. I can't wait to get on to the Old Trafford pitch and I'm sure the rest of the lads are the same.

"There was a lot of criticism after that game and we have to take it on the chin. We know the performance was not acceptable, both as a team and as individuals. We are all much better players than that.

"There was a lot of frustration at the way we performed in Belfast. We let ourselves and the fans down. We are determined to react in the most positive way, and channel that frustration into much better performances."

Last month's surprise defeat might have hampered England's progress, but last September's victory over group leaders, Poland, means their fate remains in their own hands.

A win over Austria will leave them needing to beat the Poles again next Wednesday to top Group Six and avoid the lottery of a two-legged play-off.

"Two victories will see us in Germany," said Owen. "And I am convinced we will get those wins. I am sure no-one in the England camp will be thinking about any other scenario.

"The World Cup is the pinnacle of any player's career. We are all determined to get to Germany to test ourselves on the biggest stage of them all."

* Newcastle manager Graeme Souness has played down the seriousness of Kieron Dyer's latest hamstring injury and insisted the England international will be back in action before Christmas.

Dyer was a late withdrawal from the squad that travelled to Portsmouth on Saturday after failing a fitness test during training on Friday.

The injury-plagued midfielder was struggling to even run after suffering yet another setback, leading to suggestions he could be ruled out for more than three months.

But, while Souness accepts yet another hamstring problem is a major cause for concern, he is hopeful of seeing Dyer fit again within a matter of weeks.

"He did a wee bit too much in training and is now feeling something else, which has set him back again," admitted the Magpies manager.

"He's going to take it easy for a few days and then we'll push him on again. I don't know where the Christmas thing came from, but we're probably talking weeks rather than days."