Sáez staying put

Contract extension
Sáez flew back to Madrid yesterday morning following his side's elimination from UEFA EURO 2004™ after a 1-0 defeat by Portugal. The 61-year-old had signed a two-year contract extension only last month but said at the time that he might reconsider if Spain performed disappointingly in Portugal.

Press conference
However, at a press conference this morning at the headquarters of the Spanish Football Federation, Sáez confirmed he was staying put. "I am aware that we did not do the job required and I am sorry, for the players, for myself and for the people who followed us out there," he said before adding: "The important thing is to get over this and I will do it by preparing the team for the FIFA World Cup in Germany."

Two failings
Reflecting on the tournament, Sáez said that he had "picked a squad that apart from one or two players everybody was in agreement with". Spain were eliminated on goals scored after finishing level on points with Greece. Sáez felt his side did well in their first two matches in beating Russia and drawing with Greece and said: "I liked the first two matches. We just missed two things, not scoring another goal and losing our concentration at one particular moment [when Nuno Gomes scored Portugal's winner]."