Saga ends as Kiatisak signs new deal
Coach aims to steer Thailand to World Cup
Kiatisak Senamuang has finally agreed to continue as national team coach, ending speculation about his future.
Facing an ultimatum from Football Association of Thailand president Somyot Poompunmuang, Kiatisak signed a new contract with the FAT yesterday.
The deal took effect yesterday and will end on Feb 28, 2018 after the previous one expired at the end of January.
Details of the contract and financial terms were not disclosed.
On Monday, Somyot said Kiatisak must sign a new contract by the end of yesterday or he would look for another coach to take the job.
Yesterday’s contract-signing event was hastily arranged at the FAT headquarters.
“At the moment, I do not see anyone who is better than Zico [Kiatisak’s nickname] for the job. I have never said that I will change the national coach,’’ Somyot said.
“While the contract is a short one, Kiatisak’s performance is more important than the length of the deal,” he said.
Reports had claimed Kiatisak wanted the FAT to shoulder his taxes but Somyot said this was irrelevant.
“The FAT has to protect its interests and Kiatisak has to protect his. Some organisations help their employees pay taxes and some do not. I hope Kiatisak understand our regulations,’’ Somyot said.
He added: “The FAT will not interfere in Kiatisak’s job and his selection of players. We will not ask him why he selects or does not select this or that player. We will give him a free hand and want him to work to the best of his ability.”
Kiatisak said he had been in talks with Somyot and there had only been some small problems in the details.
“The president also wants me to look after junior teams such as the U14 and U16 squads so we had to discuss the matter. We have not yet discussed it in detail but our aim is we must be there [the World Cup] in 2026,’’ he said.
Fifa has decided to increase the number of participating teams at the World Cup finals to 40 in 2026, giving several nations, including Thailand, hope of playing at the sport’s showcase tournament for the first time.
Kiatisak said he had no problem with signing only a one-year deal.
He also dismissed reports that he demanded that the FAT take responsibility for his taxes.
“We should stop talking about this and focus on how to get points from matches against Saudi Arabia and Japan,’’ he said.
Thailand will host Saudi Arabia on March 23 and travel to Japan on March 28 in Asia’s final qualifying round for the 2018 World Cup.
Thailand only have a slim hope of earning a ticket to Russia 2018 as they are currently bottom of their six-team group with one point from five games.
They have lost to Saudi Arabia, Japan, the United Arab Emirates and Iraq, and drawn with Australia.
Shortly after Kiatisak guided Thailand to retain the Suzuki Cup in December, Somyot reportedly said that Thailand may need a new coach if they want to move to another level.
However, t he FAT president has rubbished the reports, saying he was misquoted.