THE ODDS on Ex-England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson becoming the next Oxford United manager have been slashed by one bookmaker over the course of the last two days.

The 70-year-old is now the 4/1 third favourite to become the U's next pernament boss on Skybet, having started yesterday as an outside bet of 16/1.

Mr Eriksson coached the England national team between 2001 and 2006, a period which many consider to be a 'golden generation' with players such as Beckham, Scholes, Neville and Ferdinand. 

But his tenure ended in failure as the team crashed out of the 2006 world cup in Germany.

After a brief stint with Leicester, the Swede has spent the last five years managing teams in China but has been out of work since being sacked by Shenzhen FC.

Oxford United issued a statement yesterday saying a manager with the 'wow factor' had been identified, but that there would be no announcement until next week.