Arnie's seal of approval

IT may not compare to the glamour and prestige of last year's World Cup, but Australia coach Graham Arnold predicts his English Premier League stars will receive rock-star treatment during the Asian Cup.

And having visited Bangkok after the Asian Cup workshop in Kuala Lumpur, Arnold is confident his team will be nicely poised to back up its popularity and favouritism to challenge for the trophy on its Asian debut.

"The Thai people are so excited. I did an interview and all the questions were about Mark Viduka, Tim Cahill, Lucas Neill, Mark Schwarzer, Harry Kewell and Brett Emerton," Arnold said.

"There is such a huge focus on the Premier League and it seems like we'll be well supported by the Thai people.

"After coming here and seeing it for myself I feel more relaxed, knowing our players, who are used to top-class facilities in Europe, will come here and be looked after."

Arnold and team manager Gary Moretti have been impressed by the facilities Australia will utilise during the tournament.

Doubts twice surfaced within the past year about Thailand's capacity to host the event, which is co-hosted by Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam.

Australia will play their three group games in Bangkok, plus the quarter-final if it finishes top of the group.

Asian trips have often been treacherous for Australia teams but Arnold is delighted with what he has seen and has praised Cup officials.

"The main stadium is a 56,000-seater. It's like Aussie Stadium. They've relaid the whole surface and it looks good, so it's a great incentive for us to finish top of the group," Arnold said. He also gave the training facilities his tick of approval.

Arnold, who is due to return to Australia next week, said the trip - which has taken him to Europe and Asia - has been money well spent by Football Australia.

"We've broken down so many barriers, it's been a wonderful exercise and full credit to FFA," he said.

"First, there was confusion about when the Asian Cup was on and there was a fear from our players' clubs that they wouldn't get a holiday.

"But after going through the programs they are relaxed and supportive of what we're doing.

"The players were concerned. They didn't want to get into an argument or conflict between the club and country and now there won't be.

"It's clear that the players are ready for it. We're just trying to get rid of every small problem that can occur off the field so we can come here and just worry about the football side of things."