We caught up with Darby last week in Bangkok. The English-born Australian coach, who now lives in Hanoi but commutes to Thailand, is the Thai assistant national coach alongside number one and English legend Bryan Robson.

He says his view of Thai players is backed up by Robson and his predecessor Peter Reid, who Robson succeeded last September. 

“We’ve got two players who 'Robbo' certainly thinks could play in the English Premier League.  One is Teerasil Dangda, a striker who Melbourne Victory put a large offer on the table for,” Darby told au.fourfourtwo.com. 

“The other is Kawin Thammasatchanon, the national team keeper. He’s class. Manchester United wants him but it’s a visa issue. So the only way United can do it is farm him out to Belgium.

“There are probably five more in the national team that both Reidy and Robbo say would comfortably be able to play Championship football.

“The best thing is the enthusiasm of the players. They want to get better. And having worked with Sheffield Wednesday who were in the Championship I’d definitely 100% agree.

"The two Thai national team full-backs and centre back could certainly play in the Championship."

Darby, a UEFA ‘A’ coach, AFC instructor, who speaks five languages and has authored five coaching books, is one of a small number of Aussie coaches working throughout Asia.

As a former Matildas, AIS and Sydney Olympic coach, Darby retains close links with the Australia but has been dismayed with Thai players pricing themselves out of transfers to bigger leagues.

“Victory made a sensible offer for Teerasil," he said. "But they [his Thai club] wanted four times that. They wanted a million, which you’re not going to get.

“At one stage we had eight playing abroad in Belgium, Vietnam, Singapore and Australia. But the Thai League has boomed.  And now the salaries have jumped massively.”

Darby adds that Thailand, like Brazil, sees football as a way out of poverty. It means players are desperate to improve in order to make it.

“There are 85 million people here," he said. "Football is the number one sport here. There’s still that element of hunger here.

"If you go into the countryside you do see a massive difference between there and Bangkok. For example, a footballer here can earn ten times that of an average salary.”

Victory of course have Thai star Surat Sukha. And the tough little defender’s feedback has been all positive after being encouraged to make the move to Melbourne by Darby.

Darby added: "I've got a lot of time for Ernie Merrick and Gary Cole. They’ve done a fantastic job. Surat has benefited by being under Ernie. He’s a physically better specimen and more disciplined tactically.

“Surat loves playing there. And he tells us he can’t believe how much Gary Cole eats!

"But he just loves it there and he says it’s just so competitive you can’t make mistakes while in Thailand you can get away with that a little more… there are more Thai lads who could go to the A-League.”

Darby is also the Thai FA’s technical director, a role he’s held for the last three years. Over the last 30 years he has racked up an impressive CV that includes assistant coach of Bahrain, Vietnam Olympic coach and coach of Home United in Singapore, Perak and Johor in Malaysia, the Matildas as well as youth coach of Sheffield Wednesday and acting head coach at the AIS, where he coached the likes of Viduka and Lucas Neill.

Darby, who arrived from England to play in Tasmania three decades ago later coached across Australia at clubs such as Sydney Olympic as well as working for the Australian FA, says he’s happy working in Asia. But added this caveat. 

“In Asia there are two words: 'Must Win'," he said. "And if you don’t you’re out. I’ve lasted three years everywhere which is quite a long time but I’ve had to win something everywhere I’ve gone. But it is hard work.”

But he said working with a Manchester United legend fits perfectly with the English behemoth’s brand across south-east Asia.

“Manchester United have overtaken Liverpool in this region in the marketing," he said. "They’ve got Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand sewn up now and that’s nearly 300 million people. When United play Liverpool, the whole country stops. It really is a Man United marketing dream here.”

As for the coaching of the national team – who finished behind Jordan and Iran in Asian Cup qualifiers and begin FIFA World Cup qualifiers in June – Darby said Robson’s reputation preceded him.

“He loves the job and loves the place," said Darby. "He’s got a four year contract and he’s about five months into the job. It’s a great environment to work in. His kids are in England and Australia so he commutes a bit but his wife comes over a lot.

“He missed the challenge of coaching. The players respect him as they did with Reidy. We work together but the reality is he does what most EPL teams do [in training]. And the players here seem to like the British mentality.

“If you treat players with respect and high standards, they respond. We don’t have much time with them when they come into camp, so they’ll either be fit enough or not fit enough. So it tends to be more just football time with them.”

Darby still harbours ambitions to one day coach in Tasmania. In the meantime, he’s enjoying life in bustling Bangkok and working with such a recognised football great.

He added: “It’s a good life. The money’s good. It’s never, ever boring in Bangkok. It’s been good working with Reidy and Robbo who’ve been genuinely loved by the fans.

“I work on the view that every morning I wake up, I’m working in football. This is something I’ve done since 1978.”