With Dutchman Dick Advocaat seemingly rubberstamped as the next boss of the Australian national team, caretaker coach Graham Arnold has departed by biting back at critics who accuse him of steering the Socceroos ship off course since the highs of last year's World Cup. It's been a tumultuous journey for Arnold, Guus Hiddink's former assistant, since accepting the national team senior position when Hiddink elected not to renew his short-term contract 15 months ago. It doesn't take much reading between the lines to recognise Arnold feels somewhat unappreciated in his efforts in transitioning an aging Socceroos line-up into one which can consistently compete with the rigours of Asian tournament football.

If body language is anything to go by then a picture tells a thousand words. Whilst Australia coach Graham Arnold was subdued for most of the pre-match press conference in the build-up to his team's vital clash with Iraq, he bristled at suggestions that Australia are under any more pressure than usual. Claiming that he had not read any of the criticism dished out by the Australian media in the wake of Australia's insipid display against Oman, Arnold suggested that he always knew that his team would be "under-done" - reminding the media that Australia had played only two matches in the past six weeks. Former Australia coach Rale Rasic - who lead The Socceroos to the 1974 FIFA World Cup Finals, had earlier claimed that Arnold was "too chummy" with his team, but when informed of Rasic's comments, Arnold responded with a terse "who cares?" Socceroos defender Lucas Neill suggested that his team needed to conjure a "reaction" to the 1-1 draw with Oman , with The Socceroos likely to go in search of early goals against Iraq in a bid to kill the game off as quickly as possible. For all their rhetoric, Australia are well aware that they are likely to require back-to-back victories if they are to finish on top of Group A and stay in Bangkok for the quarter-finals. Copyright © Michael Tuckerman & Soccerphile.com