Former England midfielder Peter Reid got his international coaching career off to a perfect start when Thailand beat North Korea 1-0 on Tuesday.
Defender Pattipan Petchpool scored the only goal in stoppage time to give Thailand an early advantage in the T&T Cup tournament which also features hosts Vietnam.
Reid made sweeping changes to a team he admits he barely knows, having spent only one week working with his players. "It's a great start and the boys did smashing," the former Manchester City, Leeds United and Sunderland manager told by a telephonic press conference."Make no mistake North Korea are a tough team, they could qualify for the World Cup. No one's getting carried away just yet but there were so many plus factors and it's a nice way for me to start."
Reid, 52, signed a lucrative four-year contract last month and is hoping to guide Thailand to their first World Cup finals in 2014, with the team having failed to qualify for 2010.
