The Swede, who was branded a flop England manager by the British press, hit back as he spelled out his vision for City following a stylish 2-0 victory over hosts West Ham at Upton Park on Saturday.

He has spent more than 40 million pounds of new City owner and former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's money since taking over at Eastlands.

Eriksson admitted he had not seen much of many of his new signings, but he had seen enough -- and heard enough from sniping critics.

"It can only be stupid people who say I would sign players I did not know anything about," he told reporters.

"OK, I haven't seen all of them play nine or 10 times but I have big scouting staff at the club and I have as many videos as I need to watch.

"I've always signed good football players. And with these ones, some are young and for the future and some, like Martin Petrov and Elano, are more experienced."

There was no looking back for the Swede after the demolition of West Ham, with both goals coming from players he brought in.

Italian forward Bianchi, an 8.8-million-pound capture from Italian side Reggiana, scored in the 18th minute.

And Brazilian international striker Geovanni, signed on a free transfer from Brazilian side Cruzeiro, sealed victory from 12 yards out three minutes from the end.

"England is history for me," the Swede insisted.

"We are playing a different way with Manchester City. It is a big club and the aim is to make it much better.

"The owner has not asked me to win the Premier League -- not this season anyway -- or get into Europe, but we will see where we are when the squad is fully ready.

"I don't think I have anything to prove in English football, although at the start of a season everybody must prove they are the right man in the right place.

"I am delighted, of course, with the way we have started. I enjoy the club job more between matches than I did with England between matches. I enjoy being on the training field and in the dressing room.

"But (Chelsea manager) Jose Mourinho can still have all the headlines as far as I'm concerned. My job is to improve the club."

The former Lazio coach countered criticism that he has bought too many foreign players, saying: "We ended up the game with five players who came through the academy. When people criticise the foreign signings they should think about this."

Eriksson also revealed that he was looking to purchase two or three more players before the end of August, with a goalkeeper being his main priority.

Both teams came into their opening Premiership fixture with heightened expectations following wholesale playing staff changes in the close season.

A bright spot for the home team was the appearance of striker Dean Ashton for the first time since the May 2006 FA Cup final.

The hitman, who featured in the England squad before suffering an ankle break last August, nearly capped his return with a goal, but instead he volleyed over the bar from Matthew Etherington's cross.

Hammers boss Alan Curbishley apologised for his team's display, admitting it was not good enough.

"I'm extremely disappointed to say the least. We started badly and got worse," he groaned.

"Their passing was miles ahead of ours and they were definitely the most dangerous team. Dietmar Hamann dictated the play and just strolled around the place, we had nothing."