Amourous coach fails to charm the French

"Don't worry about it, I'm in love!" was the essential underlying theme to Raymond Domenech's post-humiliation apologies to the French public after France's 2-0 defeat at the hands (feet?) of the Italians on Tuesday night.

The embattled coach, already driving the Swiss mad with his paranoid antics back at team HQ, was interviewed minutes after his team's untimely exit from the competition, and immediately began pouring bucket loads of salt into open wounds.

Appearing relaxed and grinning casually, he congratulated this promising young team (!) and then appeared to mumble a wedding proposal to his girlfriend Estelle Denis, a young TV presenter with, until then perhaps, her whole life ahead of her. What Miss Denis finds so appealing about Mr Domenech is open to speculation - perhaps his sense of humour? It was a moment that David Brent would have been proud of.

Romantics as they are, perhaps the French will forgive Mr Domenech's ill-timed outpouring of devotion. But it occured to me that if Steve Maclaren had taken the stand on the BBC as England failed to qualify, and announced 'Look, I know it's all gone a bit pear-shaped, but then at least I've pulled', then he would have been on the next flight to Azerbaijan.