Under-fire Bilek refuses to quit Czech job

Published: 11 Aug 2011 - 18:00:13

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Under-fire Bilek refuses to quit Czech job

Czech Republic coach Michal Bilek said Thursday he had no intention of quitting his post despite the latest in a long line of setbacks for the national side.

Widespread calls for Bilek's resignation came Thursday, a day after his side suffered a 3-0 reverse to Norway in Oslo -- their worst defeat since April 1994.

But Bilek has played down the result: "I didn't consider resigning after the match in Norway. Sure, it wasn't a good match for us but it was only a friendly.

"The most important thing is that we're still in contention to aim for a play-off place and thus qualify for the Euro 2012," Bilek added.

On Thursday Sport daily headlined with "Mister Bilek, throw in the towel!", while the Dnes newspaper said "The national team is worse than we imagined". Other newspapers called the result a "disaster".

The Czechs sit second in Group I in qualifying for next year's European Championships, six points behind Spain and five ahead of Scotland, against whom they will play their next qualifier, in Glasgow, on September 3.