World Cup 2010: Le Guen vows to stay as Cameroon coach

Cameroon coach Paul Le Guen vowed to stay on despite his side becoming the first to be knocked out of the 2010 World Cup after a 2-1 loss to Denmark.

"I will not resign," said former Lyon boss Le Guen. "I don't have any regrets and that's not how I operate."

Cameroon took an early lead through Samuel Eto'o but were caught twice on the break as Nicklas Bendtner and Dennis Rommedahl scored for Denmark.

Cameroon had suffered a 1-0 defeat by Japan in their opening game.

The early World Cup exit represents a turnaround in fortunes for Le Guen, who came into the tournament as a hugely popular figure having turned around the Indomitable Lions' faltering qualification campaign.
But his tactics were widely criticised after the dismal showing against Japan and, although his changes to the team brought about a marked improvement against the Danes, Cameroon were wasteful in front of goal and too often naive at the back.

Jean Makoun was turned inside out by Rommedahl for the second goal before Achille Emana and Vincent Aboubakar missed clear-cut chances to equalise.

"It's a great disappointment, we had high hopes, but I think this match shows that we were not really effective enough," said the former Rangers boss.

"We were not able to take the big opportunities we had in the first half and it's a serious disappointment for both us and the Cameroonian nation as a whole."

Meanwhile, Eto'o described crashing out of the World Cup as the greatest disappointment of his glittering career.

"All my season was focused to be ready for this World Cup," said Eto'o, who won the Italian league, cup and Champions League with Inter Milan last season. "It's the only thing I could think about."

While Denmark now look forward to a crucial showdown with Japan, 1990 quarter-finalists Cameroon will only have pride to play for in their match against the Netherlands on Thursday.

"It's hard. It's not normal for us to finish last," said Eto'o. "But there will be other days. They played better than us in the match. It's that simple." bbc online.