BRIEF-Soccer-Bordeaux coach ready to use B team to ease the load

PARIS | Mon Feb 8, 2010 10:31am EST

PARIS Feb 8 (Reuters) - Bordeaux coach Laurent Blanc said he was prepared to send his B team to play a delayed League Cup semi-final next week after the French League turned down his request to ease the crowded calendar.

Blanc unsuccessfully asked officials to move a Ligue 1 match against Auxerre from Feb. 20 to Feb. 19 to allow his players an extra day to prepare for a Champions League second-round tie at Olympiakos on Feb. 23.

The French champions must also play a League Cup semi-final at Lorient on Feb. 17 and Blanc told a news conference on Monday: "I am ready to send the B team. We are going to play four matches over 10 days."

(Reporting by Pierre Serisier; Editing by Clare Fallon; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

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