Blanc 'not favourite' for France job, says FFF chief

French Football Federation (FFF) president Jean-Pierre Escalettes has said he has never identified Bordeaux manager Laurent Blanc as the favourite to succeed Raymond Domenech as coach of France.

In an interview appearing in today's edition of French regional daily Sud-Ouest, Escalettes said: "If I hadn't said that the coach of the reigning French champions (Blanc), and a former world champion, wasn't on the list of 10 or 12 names, you'd laugh in my face.

"But I've never said that he was the favourite. We're working on the profile of the next coach, but neither me nor my colleagues have attempted to approach Laurent Blanc. We have to let him finish his season.

"The only certain thing is that the coach will be French."

Blanc, who has coached reigning French champions Bordeaux since 2007, was named by Escalettes in January on a shortlist to replace Domenech that also included Alain Boghossian, current Marseille coach Didier Deschamps and Jean Tigana.

Domenech, who has coached Les Bleus since 2004, will step down from his position after this year's World Cup in South Africa. His successor will be announced by the FFF prior to the tournament in April or May.