Russian coach may resign

RUSSIA coach Valery Gazzayev last night threatened to resign after his side’s 2-1 home defeat to Israel in a warm-up to the crucial Euro 2004 qualifier against a Republic of Ireland side sweating on the availability of Robbie Keane.

While the Irish striker received physiotherapy in London following a knock sustained against Australia, Gazzayev said he may step down after talks with Russian Football Union (RFU) president Vyacheslav Koloskov today "There's no need to talk about the match, it was a shameful, disgusting performance by our team tonight. Tomorrow I will meet Koloskov and make my final decision to stay or to resign," Gazzayev said.

He added: "Such a lack of will that Russian team players showed today is absolutely unacceptable in any case. I have no further comments on the match."