Blanc heads for showdown talks

Andre Villas-Boas remains favourite for the Spurs job as Laurent Blanc prepares for showdown talks with the French football federation.

Villas-Boas was quoted in Portugal at the weekend and rubbished reports that he was set to get the White Hart lane job, describing them as "lies".
That could have been a throw-away comment and there are more rumours today that the ex-Chelsea coach is set to be offered a three-year deal to succeed Harry Redknapp.
But Blanc's situation could change dramatically within the next week as he heads into talks with FFF president Noel Le Graet to determine if he carries on in charge of the French squad for the World Cup campaign.
The ex-Bordeaux boss achieved his goal of reaching the quarter-finals but the manner of France's back-to-back defeats at the hands of Ukraine and Spain have left question marks against his authority.
The reaction of Samir Nasri to going out and rumours about rifts in the squad could lead to Blanc being effectively shown the door, which could change the situation for Villas-Boas.