English Premier League:Sven-Goran Eriksson is winning matches and friends in England's north-west, writes Kevin McCarra.

Even if his fame were not enough, Sven-Goran Eriksson could count on attentive service on a night out in the north-west of England once word got around that he was good for a £100 tip.

He has also been lavish in dishing out happiness to Manchester City supporters, whose team stand third in the table and are four points in front of the Chelsea side they meet at Stamford Bridge this afternoon. It is the club's best start in the top flight for 37 years.

Despite the detached manner, Eriksson must appreciate the recovery in his standing as well. Being feted in public is bound to be a relief for a person who, as England's manager, looked out of his window on at least one occasion, observed the posse of paparazzi, and decided to stay at home that day. Of course, the post he held then also has remarkable side-effects that few would wish to avoid.

Eriksson can have had no genuine complaints, not when it is remembered that his then salary of £4 million is double what he now receives at Eastlands. He certainly volunteered at the 2006 World Cup that England's exit at the quarter-final stage was unsatisfactory. For all that, it is still surprising that he had to spend a year in limbo.

His CV shows 15 significant trophies won with clubs in Sweden, Portugal and Italy. It therefore exasperated Eriksson that he was taken so lightly when he went to City and, in his mind, the scorn directed at him for buying players he had not seen in the flesh was facile. He is exceedingly well-connected and, for instance, the current Brazil manager, Dunga, whom Eriksson recruited from Pisa for the Fiorentina midfield in 1988, gave him a comprehensive briefing on Elano, who looks like the signing of the season.

The purchases, however, have not necessarily been the decisive factor. There were fine judgments to be made and the versatile newcomer Vedran Corluka would have been happy as the successor to Sylvain Distin at centre-half, but Eriksson preferred to accelerate Micah Richards's destiny by moving him into the middle and fielding the Croat at right-back. Trusting the England teenager with such responsibility is typical of a person famed for taking exactly that kind of step. City's youth policy is in good hands. This manager's career has endured because he can find his way through the labyrinth of choices.

Gary Owen, the former City midfielder who now covers the club's matches for Century FM, appreciates the blend that has been achieved and takes as an example the partnership of Michael Johnson and Dietmar Hamann in central midfield.

"What each of them does," he said, "is to allow the other to get on with his own job and that, in turn, lets Elano play further forward." The complementary work of Johnson, with his young legs, and Hamann, with his old head, is natural.

Maybe Eriksson was fortunate to have alternatives in midfield when he came to a club that had lost Joey Barton to Newcastle United, but the habit of being a bit lucky is a good trait to have.

It is also advisable to look after the obvious and Eriksson got on with filling the glaring vacancy on the left flank that had bedevilled the club by buying Martin Petrov.

The manager envisaged no more than reaching the top half of the table this season and he still sees limitations. His intention of adding to the squad in January is well known. "We maybe have to spend if we want to stay more or less where we are," said Eriksson. "Or rather, I don't think maybe. We have to do that if we want to stay there."

This probably constitutes an ultimatum in his urbane terms.

To the mind of an observer such as Gary Owen, Eriksson has taken simple measures to get the best out of the people already at his disposal. "Sven," he said, "takes the squad to a hotel the night before every match, home and away. Even if a player is in his own house he might not be getting enough rest if there are young children about. That is what Sven does - he removes any excuse people might have for not playing at their best."

Throughout his career, Eriksson has made it a priority to create an environment players appreciate, even if fans around the globe still fantasise about the tyrannical manager who will terrorise a team to success.

From the start, when he got Degerfors promotion from the Swedish third division in his first season as a manager, Eriksson has seldom varied from the tactics and style his compatriots regard as quintessentially British. At City, there can scarcely be a fan who would change a single thing about him.

• Guardian Service

Chelsea v Manchester City Venue: Stamford Bridge Kick-off: 3.0, Saturday