Polish managers are well known for their outspoken, uncompromising style and current national team coach Pawel Janas fits the mould set by his predecessors.

Though less of a public figure than previous Poland boss Jerzy Engel, Janas is popular throughout Poland and his headstrong approach is breeding confidence across the nation.

When his side were placed in Group A of the World Cup finals, along with Ecuador, Costa Rica and tournament hosts Germany, Janas insisted the Poles would progress through the group stages and into the last 16.

He threw down the gauntlet to Germany boss Jurgen Klinsmann, telling Bild newspaper: "Besides the Confederations Cup, Germany haven't played any real matches for two years, now. International friendlies aren't relevant.

"Germany have got no stars like in the past, only (Michael) Ballack. I admired Klinsmann as player very much, but his abilities as a coach still have to be proven."

Janas showed Ecuador and Costa Rica similar disregard, adding: "We defeated Ecuador 3-0 in a friendly and we have enough time left to worry about Costa Rica.

"Poland continually improved (in qualifying) and belong to the European top class," he added. "Therefore, I hope that we will pass this group."

Should he succeed in guiding his charges beyond the group, Janas will become the first Poland manager to do so since 1986, ending two decades of disappointment on the world's biggest stage.

In his playing days, Janas starred for Wlókniarz Pabianic (1965-73), Widzew Lódz (1974-77) and Legia Warsaw (1978-82, 1986-88) in his home country, as well as French side Auxerre (1982-86).

He was also part of a hugely successful Poland side that made it to the World Cup semi-finals in 1982.

A 2-0 defeat by Italy halted the Poles in Spain that year but Janas' solid defensive displays helped to cement his reputation as a cool headed reader of the game.

He took that reputation with him when he cut his managerial teeth as assistant boss at Legia Warsaw in 1988. A role as Poland youth coach ensued two years later and he assisted Janusz Wojcik in guiding Poland to a silver medal at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.

His first position as a head coach came at Legia in 1994 and he was an instant success, claiming back-to-back Polish league and cup doubles in his first two seasons. His credentials were boosted further in the 1995/96 Champions League, as Legia advanced to the quarter finals.

Janas took full charge of the Polish youth and Olympic squads in 1996, before taking the reigns as manager and vice-president of sport at Amica Wronki in 1999.

He took charge of the Polish national team on 20 December 2002 and selected his first team in a 0-0 friendly draw with Croatia in February 2003.

By October of the same year, Poland's hopes of qualifying for Euro 2004 had been dashed. Janas had taken over a squad running low on form and confidence after a humiliating 1-0 home defeat by Latvia and failure to take a single point from clashes with Sweden left his side three points short of second place in Group D.

Janas' failure to drag Poland to the European Championships stepped up the pressure to reach World Cup 2006 and a dire 5-1 friendly defeat by Denmark in August 2004 did nothing to help the nation's faith in the manager.

There were even calls for Janas to resign before the qualifying campaign began, and he himself admitted: "I am a man of honour. If we have poor results against Northern Ireland and England I will resign immediately."

Victory over Northern Ireland in Belfast was followed by defeat to England in Chorzow but the decision to give Janas more time then paid off, as he inspired a sequence of seven consecutive victories, including away wins in Austria and Wales and an 8-0 crushing of Azerbaijan.

A number of Polish stars shone along the way, including Celtic striker Maciej Zurawski, who hit seven goals in 10 appearances, and fellow frontman Tomasz Frankowski, who also chipped in with seven goals.

Defeats both at home and away against England meant second place was the best Janas' men could hope for in qualifying group six but, with a total of 24 points, they were amongst the competition's strongest runners up.