Manchester City's hammering at the hands of Middlesbrough on Sunday may have been embarrassing, but even that chastising experience may pale in comparison to the humiliation Sven-Göran Eriksson could be forced to endure over the coming days.

Eriksson will board a flight to Bangkok with his City squad this evening for an end-of-season tour that was designed to promote the club's commercial activities in Asia, but one which, instead, will be completely overshadowed by the uncertainty over the manager's future.

Although a date is not thought to have been set, Eriksson will sit down with Thaksin Shinawatra at some point during the 10-day tour of Thailand and Hong Kong and the Swede is expected to be given his marching orders as City's controversial owner begins his well-documented “evaluation” of the club's season and the positions of everyone involved.

Eriksson met Pairoj Piempongsant, Thaksin's aide, after the 8-1 defeat at the Riverside Stadium at the weekend, but the former England head coach is thought to have been dismayed that he was not given any indication as to whether he would still be in a job by the time City return home on Friday week.

That may have been partly explained by the fact that Thaksin has still to line up a replacement, despite his persistent attempts to lure Luiz Felipe Scolari, the Portugal coach, to the club, and there remains the distinct, if unseemly, prospect of Eriksson being sacked in Thailand only to be asked to carry on overseeing the club's tour.

With all contract talks suspended and the search for new players on hold, City have been thrust into a state of limbo brought about by Thaksin's refusal to clarify Eriksson's position. The manager claims to have already missed out on three potential signings and it was clear last night that the continuing uncertainty was beginning to anger the normally placid Swede.

“There is an uncertainty and that is not good for anyone,” Eriksson said. “I want to be told whether or not I am the manager for next season as soon as possible. I do expect a clear decision. I want to see the situation resolved. It has to be because the league is finished now. Everyone needs to get on with their work and it's the same for me whether that is at Manchester City or somewhere else.

“Most of the clubs are already preparing and have been for some time. It is frustrating, but I have to respect opinions and if it is the owner's opinion that I am not the right man for Manchester City then I would like him to give me that opinion face-to-face and not say maybe or maybe not.”

Thaksin's refusal to be drawn on the matter has led some to suggest that he may be considering sticking with Eriksson, but given the untenability of the manager's position and the owner's reluctance to put an end to all the speculation it is impossible to imagine a scenario where the Swede could - or would want to - continue.

Eriksson held talks with Benfica last week - the Portuguese club, who Eriksson has managed twice before, have offered him a three-year contract worth £1.9 million annually - but while he is unconcerned about the prospect of any payoff being affected as a consequence, Eriksson would be supported by the League Managers Association if he was to make a claim for constructive dismissal.

City will play a Thai League All-Star XI on Saturday and then head to Hong Kong, where they will play two matches in a mini-tournament five days later, starting against a South China Invitational XI. Their second opponents will be either Juventus or South China.