Sven-Goran Eriksson says he is in for the long haul as he signs for two years at Leicester

Sven-Goran Eriksson dismissed suggestions his time at Leicester City will only be short-lived after being unveiled as the club's new manager at the Walkers Stadium yesterday.

The former England manager, 62, has penned a two-year contract, quickly replacing Paulo Sousa who was sacked on Friday with the Foxes at the foot of the npower Championship table after a dismal start to the season.

Leicester represents Eriksson's sixth destination in just four years after he parted ways with the Football Association in 2006.

He spent just seven months at Notts County as director of football before calling time on his spell at Meadow Lane last season, coming after being sacked as Mexico national team manager and Manchester City manager in less than a year.

The Swede's most recent position was a short-term role in charge of Ivory Coast at this summer's World Cup as they failed to reach the knockout stages of the tournament. But Eriksson, who also becomes Leicester's seventh manager since chairman Milan Mandaric took over in 2007, insists he is at the club with the long-term aim of guiding them back to the Barclays Premier League.

Asked whether he will be here for some time, Sven replied: "Yes, absolutely, I signed a contract yesterday for two years, I hope it will be longer. In football, of course you have to get results and I know what I want here, the owners and chairman want Premier League football. I didn't sign because I want to be a manager in the Championship.

"I have the appetite for this still, otherwise I wouldn't have signed a contract. If the club didn't have any ambitions I wouldn't be interested. The target is very clear - Premier League."

He added: "The Premier League will hopefully happen this year. If it doesn't then the year after. We have to work with the players towards that."

Eriksson's last venture in the East Midlands fell flat when he soon resigned from his position as director of football at Notts County when Middle Eastern consortium Munto's ambitious five-year plan collapsed financially, leaving embarrassment for all involved.

Leicester were recently taken over by a Thai consortium, a deal which chairman Milan Mandaric hopes to be ratified by the Football League without any problems next week. And Eriksson, wiser this time around, insists he is not worried by a potential case of dej vu, having carried out a much sterner evaluation of the situation at hand.

"I'm not frightened. This is a real project," he said. "As you know, Notts County, after six months, it was not real. That was a pity. This is real though. I worked with Thai people of course (at Manchester City]. I've only worked with them (here] for a few days but so far I like them very much."

Eriksson is regularly linked with most Premier League jobs that arise nowadays, with his name thrown into the hat for the recent vacant positions at Liverpool and Aston Villa.But he played down speculation he was interviewed for the roles, saying: "That was only rumours. Every time there is a job there are a lot of agents phoning around and I am mentioned."

Eriksson, who is yet to decide whether assistant Tord Grip will join him at the Walkers Stadium, flies to Thailand with Leicester's team today for a tour which includes a friendly against the Thai national team.