Newcastle--Caretaker boss Radhi Shenaishil on Thursday said he was in talks with Iraq's football association over a permanent deal after their success at the Asian Cup.
Qatar Sports Club loaned Shenaishil to Iraq for the tournament and despite arriving just weeks ago, the former international defender led his country to the semi-finals.
"I have had talks with the Iraqi FA but there has been no pen to paper yet," Shenaishil said ahead of Iraq's third-place play-off against United Arab Emirates.
"It's a pleasure to serve my country and hopefully I'll be talking more with them in the days to come."
The 48-year-old's contract with the Qatari side runs out in May and he said he wasn't yet in a position to sign with the Lions of Mesopotamia, who won the Asian Cup in 2007.
"I have contract and I cannot disrespect them as they respected me. I cannot leave them right now," said Shenaishil, a mainstay of Iraq's defence in the 1990s.
He stepped in at the last minute following Hakim Shakir's sacking after Iraq finished bottom of their group at the Gulf Cup in November.
The turnaround has been remarkable. Iraq finished runners-up to Japan in Group D before sensationally dumping arch-rivals Iran out 7-6 on penalties in the quarter-finals.
The exertions from that match told and a tired Iraqi side went down 2-0 to South Korea in the last-four, although they can now go out on a high in Newcastle.
Shenaishil appears to have the support of the team, with defender Ahmed Ibrahim saying: "Myself and all my team-mates want him to stay.
"He is very passionate, a very good coach who loves his job and hopefully after the contract with his club ends there's a chance he can continue his journey with us."
Shenaishil whoever comes in has to put in place a coaching set-up for the 2018 World Cup qualification campaign, which starts this year, as soon as possible.
He said war-torn Iraq must avoid a repeat of their disruptions ahead of the Asian Cup, when they were without a coach or proper training sessions.
AFP
