England U21 boss Stuart Pearce says Manchester City chairman Thaksin Shinawatra should stick with Sven Goran Eriksson.

Pearce was dismissed a year ago under the previous regime at Eastlands after a 14th-placed finish in the Premier League and Eriksson guided them to ninth despite starting impressively and tailing off.

Pearce said: "If you ask me if the club is going in the right direction with respect to some added finance from my time, the answer is '100 per cent yes'.

"That's from an ex-manager of the club. It's difficult for me to talk about it but if you ask me whether I think the current manager is a good one, yes. If you ask me as a Manchester City supporter whether he should stay in charge, the answer is 'yes'.

"I don't know what direction the club is being taken in. What I do know is that they have a fantastic crop of good, young players - Michael Johnson, Joe Hart, Stephen Ireland, Micah Richards. The academy has just won the FA Youth Cup.

"They need to add to that and push forward. They have the right fella in charge to do that."

After City's investment in the likes of Elano and Martin Petrov and their start to the season, there were hopes of qualifying for Europe. However ninth still represents an improvement on where they were a year ago.

"I would have been happy with a finish of ninth," Pearce said. "I'd say he has done a very good job. They were one win away from finishing fifth or six.

"I finished 14th the year before last on a tight budget. You have had to spend a few bob to rise the five places they have this season."