BANGKOK - Thailand's football chief says national team coach Winfried Schaefer's job is not in danger despite reports his performance will be under review next year.

Football Association of Thailand president Worawi Makudi said the German would "definitely stay until his contract expires in mid-2014," according to a report in The Nation newspaper on Tuesday.

Thailand lost to Singapore in the final of the Suzuki Cup last week — the third time in the past four editions of the regional football tournament the Elephants have finished runner-up.

Worawi told local media after Thailand's defeat that the football association would meet next year to discuss the direction of the national team and that Schaefer's work would be reviewed, leading to speculation his job may not be safe.

"Early next year, there will be a meeting with the FAT executive board committee and his work will be analyzed," Worawi told the Bangkok Post. "Winnie (Schaefer) has worked for the past two years with the Thai national team — we are very pleased but we have to discuss it at the meeting. I cannot tell what the result will be."

Worawi later made clear that Schaefer, who was hired in June 2011, would be at the helm for Thailand's upcoming Asian Cup qualifiers against Kuwait on Feb. 6 and Lebanon on March 22, and he expected him to finish out his three-year contract with the team.

"We'll have a board meeting early next year to assess the team's performance. But that doesn't mean Schaefer will get the sack," he said, according to The Nation.

Schaefer replaced former Manchester United great Bryan Robson as Thailand's coach. He previously led Cameroon to the African Nations Cup title in 2002 and coached the team at that year's World Cup.

© Copyright 2013