Schaefer rules out quitting as team coach
Despite facing mounting pressure to leave the job, Thailand's beleaguered football coach Winfried Schaefer stood firm that he would not walk away quietly as there was no agreement to end his contract.
Recent reports indicated the 63-year-old German would not be able to stay on in the job he has held since June 2011, following a poor run of results since tripping at the final hurdle of the Asean Championship, going down 3-2 on aggregate to Singapore, in December.
The president of the Football Association of Thailand, Worawi Makudi, had earlier said that there was a clause in Schaefer’s contract that the two parties could review the deal after two years. He suggested that it was unlikely the veteran trainer would continue in the job, citing working difficulties he had with others.
The Thai FA boss on Friday lent more weight to the intense speculation in recent weeks that Schafer’s exit was imminent by saying that he was considering promoting former national striker Kiatisak “Zico” Senamuang, currently in charge of the SEA Games squad, to coach the senior team on a caretaker basis.
However, the German, who oversaw the team’s dismal start in the ongoing Asian Cup qualifiers, which left them on the brink of elimination, again used the social networking website to make it clear that he had no intention of leaving before his contract ends next year.
“I have to repeat myself. There is no agreement between Worawi and me. I never agreed to terminate my contract,” Schaefer said in a comment posted on his Facebook page.
