Former China boss Alain Perrin is hoping it will be a case of "last but not least" after being the final candidate to be interviewed for the position of Thailand's head coach.
The Frenchman met Thai officials on Monday, three days after last Friday's deadline, due to the efforts of one of his former players. Benoit Croissant, who Perrin managed at Troyes in Ligue 1, is a former S.League player based in Singapore who helped set up the meeting with the Football Association of Thailand (FAT).
And Perrin, who has also managed Marseille, Lyon and Portsmouth, believes he has made a strong case for succeeding Kiatisuk Senamuang, who quit last month following the sixth defeat in seven games in AFC qualifying for the 2018 World Cup.
"My current priority is to work with national sides," Perrin told ESPN FC. "I still have the desire to discover new countries and cultures and I want to work with a team that has ambition and certain qualities.
"When I was manager of China, we played against Thailand. I got to know them at that time and I could see their potential. It's a team that is dominant in Southeast Asia and is developing in the context of Asia.
"They want to reach the next level, which allows them to be competitive throughout Asia, meaning West Asia and against the strongest teams, like Australia, Japan, South Korea and China."
While Perrin acknowledges the challenges of succeeding someone as successful as Kiatisuk, he believes that he can help the team to keep moving in the right direction.
"I really admire the work that Kiatisuk did with the team," said Perrin. "I saw the way he had his team set up to play. You could see that he was a coach that gave the players confidence and had the team playing in an attacking style, with a focus on teamwork.
"Kiatisuk did well to get the team to the final stage of World Cup qualifying, though it has been difficult for them. You can see that there is still work to be done to be truly competitive against the top teams at this level.
"The target now has to be continue to improve the quality of the team. What might interest the FAT is that I am a coach that likes to develop players. I worked at the academy at Nancy in France, and I spent a long time developing my skills as a coach at small clubs, helping them make progress.
"I think I can bring this experience to Thailand, using the knowledge I have gained from working at a high level in terms of tactics and professionalism."
One challenge will be to demonstrate clear progress within one year. The FAT will offer the successful candidate a one-year rolling contract to allow them the flexibility to make a change if things aren't working out in the first 12 months.
"We have to finish our World Cup qualifying campaign, but there are no tournaments over the next year so there are no specific targets," said Perrin. "This kind of contract gives us time to check that things are going in the right direction and the relationships within the group are positive.
"The main goal now is to look towards the 2019 Asian Cup. That's the stage on which the FAT wants to see that progress has been made."
There were reports in the Thai media on Sunday that the FAT had already decided on former Ghana boss Milan Rajevac as the new head coach. But Perrin insists that this was not discussed when he met the FAT.
"I saw a communication somewhere that the recruitment process would end last Friday," said Perrin. "But it's a bit like a game of football. A football match lasts for 90 minutes but sometimes there is extra time. Because they accepted my application after the deadline had passed, it still gives me a chance.
"I think with the interview I gave, my experience and my philosophy, I am a strong candidate. I think the interview went well, but there is a lot of competition for the job, so we'll see."
Perrin spent two years with the Chinese national team, helping them to reach the quarterfinals of the 2015 Asian Cup with victories over Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan and North Korea before a slow start to the 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign saw the end of his time in charge.
The 60-year-old believes that his experiences with China can help him overcome a familiar challenge if he is appointed as Thailand boss.
"There are certain similarities between the two teams," said Perrin. "For example, they are both very attack-minded. One of the biggest challenges in any football team is to find the right balance between attack and defence. For me, a successful team starts with a strong defensive foundation.
"As national team manager, we have limited time to work with the players. Success mainly comes down to playing to the strengths of individual players, but there are small things we can do to help the players improve as a group."
Asked to identify the most pressing areas for improvement in the Thai team, Perrin noted that the leaky defence needed some work, with the War Elephants having conceded 19 goals in seven World Cup qualifying matches -- nine more than any other team in Group B.
"Thailand have a number of good attacking players who can create and score goals," said Perrin. "They have a good goalkeeper, which is very important, but progress needs to be made in the way the team defends. The number of goals conceded in World Cup qualifying tells you that this is something that has to improve."
Thai fans should find out the identify of their new head coach later this week, but it remains to be seen if Perrin's wish to return to national management will be granted.