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Published on January 16, 2008

Thailand will resume their qualifying campaign next month, having overcome Macau and Yemen on way to reaching the group stage.

Chanvit's men will launch their campaign in Group B, which includes Bahrain and Oman, with a daunting away tie to regional powerhouse Japan on February 6.

Chanvit and his 24-member squad have been in Manchester since Sunday and the coach has been pleased with a treatment his team received from City, owned by former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

The Thai team's training programme is being prepared by the Blues, with their academy manager Jim Cassell assigned to help Chanvit prepare the team.

"The way the City helped us in training was excellent. They gave attention to every detail - from footballing matters to issues that seemed trivial.

"The City's coaching staff was in charge of the morning training while we took care of the afternoon sessions. They also helped us prepare for the situations we would face when we travel to Japan," Chanvit said. He said that the players' information from the three friendly matches during their England trip would be used to pick the final squad.

Meanwhile, the traditional soccer match between the country's two prestigious universities, Chulalongkorn and Thammasat, which is usually held in January, has been postponed to April in the wake of the passing away of Her Royal Highness Princess Galyani Vadhana.

The Nation