SINGAPORE: Former England and Arsenal footballer Tony Adams has applied for the vacant Singapore national team coach position, according to a source with knowledge of the matter.

When contacted, Adams remained coy but told Channel NewsAsia via text message: “Got a couple of opportunities a bit closer to home but I know the FAS (Football Association of Singapore) are looking for a new coach.”



Channel NewsAsia has reached out to FAS for comment.

V Sundramoorthy was last to warm the hot seat as head coach of the Lions. The former star forward could only string together a record of three wins, five draws and 15 defeats in a dismal year-long reign which saw Singapore fall to its lowest-ever position of 173 in the world rankings.

Adams, 51, made his mark on the opposite end of the pitch as a hard-tackling, no nonsense defensive tower for both Arsenal as well as the England national team, captaining both sides. The one-club man won four top-flight titles with the London side and has a statue in his honour on the team’s Emirates stadium grounds.

Upon retirement Adams ventured into management with mixed results. In 2004 he resigned from lower-league English club Wycombe Wanderers after the club was relegated, and in 2009 he was sacked by third-tier Portsmouth after amassing just 10 points from 16 games. He most recently took the reins at Spain's Granada last year, where he failed to beat the drop into second division football.



Last week and just a day before long-serving Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger announced his departure from the club, Adams told British media he “wouldn’t be afraid” of taking over from the veteran Frenchman.

