SIX weeks ago this column criticised Lawn Tennis Association chief Roger Draper for wasting money on hiring comedy couple Stavros Flatley as the main act at a national team-bonding cabaret night.

It seems that I may have underestimated British sports administration's equivalent of David Brent; mantra: "Friend first, boss second, probably entertainer third."

This weekend, Britain's Davis Cup team sunk to its lowest point suffering; a 3-2 defeat against Lithuania, a country where tennis is run on an annual budget of less than £100,000.

Contrast that to Draper's lot. He is in charge of a sport based at a £32m training centre operating on annual handouts of £25m generated by the Wimbledon championships and a five-year deal with Aegon worth £30m.

Draper's best current product is Dan Evans who, in the decisive rubber in Vilnius on Sunday, suffered a five-set defeat to Laurynas Grigelis, an 18-year-old ranked outside the world's top 500.

It was a result that left John Lloyd as the first British captain to have suffered five straight Davis Cup defeats. He is now considering his position. "I'll go away and think about things, and ask myself, 'Did I screw up? Could someone else do a better job?'"

I suspect Draper's lining up dance duo Demetrios and Michalakis as Lloyd's new Davis Cup doubles partnership.

After all, the father and son known as Stavros Flatley first made their names on Britain's Got Talent – not something even the best products of Draper's system could be accused of possessing.