The 58-year-old Serb, who has coached the Lions since 2003, will lead the team through qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup and the 2011 Asian Cup.

"I want to keep moving Singapore forward, I have a lot of support so I’m happy to stay," he told Reuters on Tuesday.

"I had looked at other options but we’ve worked hard these last four years and I’m really happy with the way it’s been going."

The former Oman and Kuwait national team coach, who steered Singapore to victory in last year’s ASEAN (Southeast Asian) Championships, said his focus would now be on the players of the future.

"We need to work on the development of about 15-20 up-and-coming players," he said. "We have to prepare for tomorrow because today is already too late."

Singapore are currently ranked 19th in Asia and 126th in the FIFA rankings. They will contest Group Four of 2010 World Cup qualifying with Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Uzbekistan.