By Matt Majendie BBC Sport Online

Sven-Goran Eriksson's diamond formation may have come up trumps in the latter stages against Slovakia at the weekend.

But it proved a disastrous shape as England desperately and unsuccessfully tried to claw their way out of an embarrassing draw against lowly Macedonia.

Tactically Eriksson got it wrong on Wednesday night - his side sometimes looked bright going forward, but lacked any genuine direction for the full 90 minutes.

It would be far too early to say the knives are out for the Swede, who has seen his team lose just three times in his 23-match reign.

But the honeymoon period is clearly over for a man once hailed as England's footballing saviour.

To say that something is inherently wrong with his tactical nous would also be off the mark, but the argument of lingering post-World Cup blues still has some merit.

England's penultimate foray in the Far East saw them click, as they bulldozed an average-looking Danish side.

But in their four games since - against Brazil, Portugal, Slovakia and Macedonia - that click factor has been absent.

England have been and probably still will be an impressive side under the Swede but the image of a series of world-class players running round like headless chickens will test the patience of the media and the football-loving public should it linger.

There is no denying that Eriksson's England record has been impressive.

He took over with the English on the verge of missing out on the World Cup and promptly picked up five consecutive wins - against Spain, Finland, Albania, Mexico and Greece.

But not since then has his side enjoyed such a lengthy winning streak.

He has used a total of 47 players during his 20 months in charge but gone are surprise picks from his early matches - Chris Powell, Michael Ball and Gavin McCann among others.

Eriksson is no doubt clear on his preferred XI to take to Portugal for the European Championships.

And he now has just four months to regroup and rethink as England bid to qualify for the European Championships.

Whether that helps or hinders remains to be seen but there is no immediate need to panic.

English football, on the international stage, is in far better shape than before Eriksson's reign and his side are still unbeaten in European qualifying, even though they dropped two points against Macedonia.

Also he has picked his team out of the doldrums before with his seemingly Midas touch.

That golden glow appears to have escaped him for the time being.

At present his job is by no means on the line, but a couple of poor results when England resume their qualification trail and the story may be different.

With the Ulrika Jonsson saga still lingering, a slip in results could be sufficient for a sudden volte face from the notoriously fickle English media.