If there is one single improvement I would like to see made to Championship Manager, in terms of making it more realistic (as far as it can be more realistic! Imagine if it really was, and the game put you through years of earning your coaching certificates - yawn), it is to see more interaction with those good people of the press. You know who I mean - the pigs, tabloid scum, those fellas who look up to the gutter and are proud of it. In real life, football managers' relations with the media are a key part of their job. Those who enjoy a relatively smooth ride - Wenger, Ferguson, Venables - know how to both get along with journalists whilst keeping them at a respectful distance. Others who can't - O'Leary, Taylor (Graham, and Peter come to that), Sir Alf Ramsey - might surf for a while on the wave of good results, but will always suffer the knives when the water gets choppy (enough marine metaphors already!).

The level of press intrusion in football is so heavy that managers need to able to deal with the papers on an almost daily basis. As the public slavers for information the media is there to deliver it, so in many ways, this aspect of the role is about as integral as dealing with players and coaching.

Graham Taylor once called being England manager 'the impossible job', as attacks against his admittedly poor national team grew more personal in time. Bobby Robson might enjoy his Granddad-like role at Newcastle now, but the well-travelled coach looked like a reasonably young man when taking over the England hotseat in 1982, only to emerge grey-haired and stooped when he stepped down eight years later. Both cite media criticism as major factors in their predicaments. As though it wasn't bad enough carrying the hopes of a nation along with a second-rate side, there was a press industry that acted at times like a pack of wolves, always ready to pounce at the first sign of trouble.

Sir Alex has developed a way of speaking to the cameras that comes across as ultra-defensive and uncritical, when you know his teacup-throwing arm is twitching after having to watch Barthez's latest blunder. This is because he realises that we would love it (just love it, to paraphrase a certain other England boss) if we could read about disharmony at Old Trafford. The way he carries himself publicly suggests none of this. At Arsenal, Arsene Wenger - another master of handling the media - point-blank refuses to comment on anything that could derogate his side, or individuals, choosing instead to issue almost meaningless platitudes to keep the door to vitriol firmly closed and locked. These two blokes are considered widely to be the best in the Premiership, and this has much to do with their adroit relationships with the nation's inkies.

So how does CM reflect this? Sketchily at best. There is much that Sigh Games have got right with their simulation, but it is fair to argue this is a part of the job that has been under-represented. So far, you have to respond to press comments about your team, which is a simple part of the game once you get used to the right things to say. If you're doing well, you might have to answer claims that some player is showing signs of being a star (the right response is to build up praise, believe it or not) or you may be called upon to give your own verdict vis-à-vis your team's chances when some tabloid or website has speculated on your title-winning credentials (saying that you are challengers always goes down well). Adversely, when it's looking grim for your boys, you will be made to discuss how you're to avoid relegation, or to defend a player who has been singled out for scapegoatism (predictably, a positive spin by yourself should suffice). Hardly the stuff to flex Gerard Houllier's overworked noggin, is it?

And as far as I'm concerned, this is something we should be tested on in the CM alternative lifestyle (one where I'm not married, please). Such an important element of the managerial strain - and quite an interesting one too - deserves its place. First of all, press intrusion should occur all the time, not just on those occasions when the papers decide to dish it out over one of your players. In reality, you would be linked with other managerial vacancies, tipped for the sack, quizzed for your feelings on other clubs, and asked to comment on all sorts of issues that have little to do with football. The latter isn't very important, you might believe, but look at what happened to Glenn Hoddle when he was probed on his religious beliefs. The loony.

This could open up a whole new dimension on the experience of being a manager. It diverts you from being just a seasoned football man into a role model for soccer-mad kids, and tests you on your strained powers of diplomacy in a way the game doesn't at present. It would call on you to do nothing less than inject your own personality into CM, or if not that a psyche of your choosing and specification.

Most importantly, it's a part of your job that isn't as straightforward as most. On the whole, you know what to do with your players and how to win matches. If you didn't, at least after a period of learning, the game wouldn't be called 'Championship Manager', would it? It would have to be titled 'Manager Heading for the Dole', or if Sigh Games were seeking sponsorship, 'Alan Ball's Manager Game'.

With CM4 in its testing stage, and all talk about it leading to the cosmetic applications of your 2D match engine and playing online contests, a new day-to-day key element of the manager's role could be introduced. Who would you be? Kevin Keegan, with his emotional pledges? An icy Sven type? Klaus Toppmoller and his ability to celebrate with the same dedication as he puts into his superb press quotes? Or even Sir Alex, impressively blank in the eyes of the world but torrential when the dressing room door is closed? You have to admit it would be a laugh…