Former England international Phil Neal is among a growing number of senior figures who claim the coach should be sacked if he is found to have lied over his affair with secretary Faria Alam.

Thompson has confirmed a special meeting of the 12-man FA board will be held next Thursday to discuss the findings of his urgent inquiry into the ‘misleading statements’ that were issued in the wake of revelations over the relationship between Eriksson and Alam, an FA employee who also had an affair with the organisation’s chief executive Mark Palios.

While Eriksson’s trusty assistant Tord Grip has insisted his friend will be cleared of any culpability in the erroneous statement because no-one actually asked him whether it was true or not, a schism is appearing between the FA and their coach, who is unhappy at the seemingly constant attention being paid to his private life.

Were it not for the £14million compensation Eriksson is due under the terms of the new contract he signed in April amid fevered speculation about the depth of his discussions with Chelsea, it is quite possible a parting of the ways would already have been agreed.

Instead, the Swede will limp into next Thursday’s meeting with his tenure under more threat than at any stage since he succeeded Kevin Keegan in 2001.

Currently on holiday in Sweden, Eriksson is due to lead England into a friendly against the Ukraine at St James’ Park on August 18 before embarking on a World Cup qualifying campaign that begins with tough trips to Austria and Poland the following month.

If he does go, Curbishley will be among the favourites to take over. And while the Charlton boss was no doubt pleased to be on a pre-season tour of China when the furore broke, he cannot believe anyone would accept the England job without knowing the side issues that come with it.

“If you take that job, I think we all realise what it entails and what is expected,” he said.

“You wouldn’t go into it with your eyes closed, they would have to be wide open.

“I only got back from China on Monday, so I am unaware of what has been going on but there does seem to be a lot of talk about meetings.”

With Palios in the clear, Thompson and his fellow board members must decide whether Eriksson was directly involved the public relations shambles of a statement being released a fortnight ago claiming he had not had a relationship with Alam when the opposite was true.

If Eriksson is found to have lied, a charge of gross misconduct could be levelled against him, which in itself could warrant dismissal.

Privately, senior figures within the Eriksson camp feel he is being victimised but according to Neal, an assistant to Graham Taylor during his ill-fated spell in charge, if the Swede has lied, there should be only one outcome.

“If Eriksson let that first statement go out knowing it to be untrue, then he must question his own judgement and resign,” he said.

“If he knew the statement was incorrect, why did he let it go out.

“As a manager, if a player lies to you there is distrust straight away. If he has lied, there is a question mark over whether he is fit to do the job.

“Under those circumstances, if the FA stick with him, he will be under enormous pressure during the World Cup qualifiers. It really is a big issue.”