Allback grateful for Swedish support

Allback has failed to establish himself since his arrival at Villa Park last summer and has largely been restricted to substitute appearances.

But despite his lack of regular playing time in The Premiership, the striker remains in the plans of Swedish bosses Lars Lagerback and Tommy Soderberg.

The former Heerenveen man is expected to line up in Sweden's Euro 2004 qualifier against Hungary on Wednesday and is striving to stay positive.

"Of course it is tough that I do not get to play but I try to work on my mental training," Allback told TT.

"You have got to keep working and be ready when you get the chance. I guess I am a positive person.

"It facilitates my situation at the club that I feel the support from the Swedish coaches, despite playing so little for Aston Villa."

Allback is tipped to partner the returning Henrik Larsson in attack against the Hungarians and believes he has a good understanding with the prolific Celtic hit-man.

He added: "We understand each other well. Henke is easy to play with. He moves around a lot and creates space for others."

Sweden have four injury concerns ahead of Wednesday's clash in Budapest but Andreas Isaksson, Kim Kallstrom, Fredrik Ljungberg and Anders Svensson are all likely to be fit for the match.

Team doctor Magnus Forsblad told Sportbladet: "We are expecting all of them to be able to play."