Manila: Philippines coach Thomas Dooley has revealed that he has agreed a two-year extension to continue at the helm of the Southeast Asian nation.
The former United States captain has been in charge of the Azkals since February 2014, but there was initially speculation over his future given his contract with the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) was soon to expire.
However, after a fine display in the second round of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup joint qualifiers, which saw Philippines automatically advance to the third round after a dramatic last-day victory over DPR Korea, there were calls for Dooley to stay on.
And it now appears that the 54-year-old will indeed continue in the role after revealing he has agreed to extend his contract.
“We’ve had initial discussions and I’m staying for two more years,” said Dooley, according to Philippine Daily Inquirer.
“I’ve always said that I wanted to say so that’s why it was easy to come together and talk.
Under Dooley, Philippines have climbed to their highest-ever FIFA world ranking of 116th and reached the final of the now-defunct AFC Challenge Cup in 2014, as well as the semi-finals of the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Championship that same year.
With the third round of qualifying for the 2019 Asian Cup only set to kick off next March, Dooley’s main target with the Azkals for the rest of the year will be to challenge for the 2016 AFF Championship which begins in November, where they will be co-hosts along with Myanmar.
The former Kaiserslautern and Bayer Leverkusen defender has also been credited for successfully bringing through a host of talented youngsters to the senior national team, with the likes of Amani Aguinaldo, Manny Ott and Daisuke Sato all establishing themselves as important members of Dooley’s squad.
Photo: Uzbekistan Professional League
Source: the-afc.com