Schaefer new Thai coach

Winfried Schaefer is the new coach of Thailand.

In a football management career spanning almost 30 years in football management, the former Borussia Monchengladbach player and coach guided Cameroon to victory at the African Cup of Nations in 2002.

“I think you can make a lot of things happen here but I can’t do it alone, everybody has to help, (in particular) the coaches of the teams as they have them every day in training, while I have them sometimes for 10 days, sometimes for five days,” Schaeffer said.

“They have got to work well so that we have a strong team.”

Schaefer becomes the sixth foreign manager in eight years to take the post, after leaving his job at UAE side Al-Ain.

The 61-year-old replaces former England and Manchester United captain Bryan Robson, who left in June.

Robson oversaw the worst run of form in a decade for the national side, having replaced compatriot Peter Reid.

Schaefer may be judged on whether the team qualifies for the 2014 World Cup, but he prefers to concentrate on building a solid unit.

“We can’t talk about the World Cup now, we need to make the team strong first,” he said.

The new coach’s first competitive game in charge will be a World Cup second-round qualifier later this month against either Afghanistan or Palestine.