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Still told to remain in Lens dugout by ill girlfriend

Will Still in the dugout for LensGetty Images

Will Still signed a three-year deal to be Lens manager in June 2024

Lens boss Will Still says he oversaw his side's Ligue 1 win over Marseille after girlfriend Emma Saunders told him to remain in the dugout, despite her health problems.

Saunders, a presenter on Sky Sports who previously worked for BBC Sport, said in a post on Instagram on Saturday she was recovering from encephalitis, which is an infection of the brain.

Still had been absent for part of the build-up to Lens' 4-3 home league defeat to Le Havre on 1 March when the nature of Saunders' illness was not made public.

His brothers Nicolas and Edward, who are assistants at Lens, had prepared the side during that time while Still was in the UK with Saunders, but he returned to take charge against Le Havre.

With her blessing, the 32-year-old - born in Belgium to English parents - was in the technical area against Marseille on Saturday as his side snatched a dramatic victory thanks to a 94th-minute winner from Neil El Aynaoui.

"When I came back last Saturday I knew she [Saunders] was in the best place possible to get treatment," Still said after the success at Stade Velodrome.

"I asked her, 'should I go? should I not go">