Sven Goran Eriksson intends to remain as head coach of Shanghai SIPG next season despite speculation the former England manager could leave the club at the end of the current Chinese Super League season.
Pressure is mounting on the Swede, whose side are currently fourth in the standings with just three matches remaining and three points adrift of third-placed city-rivals Shanghai Shenhua.
But Eriksson's long-standing agent Athole Still insists his client plans to see out the final year of his contract with the Shanghai club.
"He has one more year and as far as we are concerned there has been an assurance given that he will do the third year," Still told ESPN FC. "He is 99 percent certain to qualify for the Asian Champions League again if the team remains in fourth position. He definitely wants to stay and is very happy at SIPG."
While the top three teams qualify for next season's Asian Champions League, the club finishing in fourth will secure a place in the playoff rounds as current league leaders Guangzhou Evergrande and second-placed Jiangsu Suning will contest the CFA Cup, which also carries with it a berth in the continental championship.
SIPG have invested heavily in their team this season, luring Brazilian striker Hulk to the club for a record 55 million euros and also signing Asian Champions League-winning South American duo Dario Conca and Elkeson.
Despite that, the club fell at the quarterfinal stage of this year's competition to South Korea's Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, but Still believes misfortune and injuries hampered the team's progress.
"When you look behind the results, he hasn't had much luck with his three foreign players," he said. "Hulk was kicked on the knee 10 minutes into his very first game, Elkeson picked up a yellow card and missed the second leg of the quarter-final and Dario Conca is out for a year with medial cruciate ligament damage. I have to say [Eriksson] has not had the best of luck with his star players. We believe he is definitely doing the third year."
Eriksson has also been among those linked with the national team's head coaching role following Gao Hongbo's resignation after picking up just one point from China's opening four games in the final phase of Asia's qualifying tournament for Russia 2018.
But Still says he has not contacted the Chinese Football Association regarding the vacancy.
"I have not been in touch with the CFA, nor would I have been in contact with the CFA," he said. "It would have been very wrong of me to do so. Sven is contracted to SIPG and he has told them he is looking forward to next year.
"I have not been in touch and my feeling about that is that one should not put oneself forward for a job like that, it should only happen with the CFA contacting SIPG first. That's the only way something like that should happen.
"I don't think there has been any contact. We spoke this morning and Sven's looking forward to next year with SIPG. He didn't mention anything about the CFA. He would only go with the absolute permission and acquiescence of SIPG."