France coach Raymond Domenech has hit back at his critics after the defeat by Austria.
Under-fire France coach comes out fighting after Austria defeat
Raymond Domenech has hit back at his critics, with the France coach claiming he would have been sent to the guillotine in a past era.
France made a disastrous start to their 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign after suffering a 3-1 defeat by Euro 2008 co-hosts Austria on Saturday.
Domenech is already under pressure following France's dismsal European Championship in the summer and has come in for further criticism from the media.
Reports have suggested he could lose his job, if Les Bleus fail to beat Serbia at the Stade de France in Wednesday's qualifier.
But Domenech is determined to fight on in his role and is staying upbeat about France's prospects of reaching the World Cup finals in South Africa.
Revolution
"You like the smell of blood," Domenech told reporters at a news conference.
"I'm happy the guillotine does no longer exist, otherwise some of you would have been delighted to send me there.
"I didn't kill anybody. Maybe if I had, I would have benefited from the mitigating circumstances.
"Suddenly we get the impression that there's a revolution. We'll have to fight in every match, starting with Wednesday, from which we need three points.
"I'd like to remind you that we have played just one qualifier. We lost our first away match, it's not nice, but there are still 27 points to play for."
