Coach Domenech fears French are too cocky

Alex McLeish's side arrived in Paris yesterday aiming to repeat history by taking advantage of a French obsession with world champions Italy.

The Scots achieved an unlikely triumph over Domenech's team last October just days after Les Bleus had beaten the Azzurri 3-1 in a World Cup revenge mission.

And, speaking at his country's plush training academy in Clairefontaine yesterday, the French coach expressed the fear last night that the Scots could once again steal in on the blind side this evening.

'We must hope we have learned our lesson after the first round of games,' said Domenech. 'We played Italy in France and won the match — then we went to Glasgow and lost.

'I hope my players understand they cannot allow the same thing to happen again. They must forget that they reached the World Cup Final. That was a long time ago now. It's the same for Italy. We have to forget what went on in the past.

'Maybe it is true that we dropped down a couple of levels when we played in Glasgow last time. The first game against Italy was our revenge for losing the World Cup Final. We were not as focused when we went to Glasgow.

'It is a similar situation this time but I hope the attitude of the players will be different. They cannot afford to take Scotland lightly for a second time.

'My problem is to convince my players of this. I repeat to them over and over that Scotland are a good team and that they can still qualify for the Finals. I have told them they have to be ready for a battle.'

Convincing his players is one thing. The quest to convince 60 million Frenchmen that the Scots can pose a genuine threat to their hopes of participating in Euro 2008 is quite another.

'I've tried to tell all the people in France that this was not just about France and Italy,' added Domenech in flawless English.

'After we beat Italy, we came to play in Glasgow. But we don't have the right to beat Scotland because they have players at good English and Scottish clubs.

'I know that — but all around the team, I'm not sure if others accepted this fact.

'Many people thought that because Italy and France competed in the World Cup Final it was obligatory that we would both qualify for the Euro Finals. But I said no.

'I'm never surprised to see a team with good players competing and Scotland have many good players.

'I thought Lithuania may also challenge and this would be a group with four or five teams competing, but that has not worked out.'

Last week, Domenech, once linked with the Celtic job, was accused of mind games when he suggested that confronting the tartan invasion was of more importance than the meeting with Italy.

Resisting such talk, however, he insisted: 'It was not psychology from me. Scotland are more able to fight and press and give us problems.

'I think that Scotland can fight better than Italy did in our last game at the San Siro.'

The last time these countries met, the Frenchman left Glasgow indignant over the alleged timewasting antics of the Hampden ball boys. Claiming his words had been taken out of context, Domenech said: 'It was two different issues. I said that Scotland won the game because they were the better team. I congratulated them for that.

'But the thing with the ball boys was a different matter. All I said was that it was not good to teach young players this kind of thing. It's not good when they see a deliberate ploy not to give the ball back.'

Some 15,000 members of the Tartan Army have thronged into the City of Light, with tickets for the Parc des Princes readily available.