Our trip to Turkmenistan was extremely eventful and it is always interesting to experience different cultures and customs first-hand.

We played in the Olympic Stadium, which holds about 60,000. It is a magnificent venue, though the playing surface was a disgrace! It was very hard, with not a lot of grass and with two sprinklers sticking out of the ground in the middle of the pitch! They did cover them up for the game by sticking artificial turf on the covers of the sprinklers, though!

As for the game, following a goalless first half we conceded a soft goal in the 76th minute and then a very dubious penalty in the 93rd.

I must say I've never seen so many players in one team dive so much! The Iranian ref spoke to several of their players, although he didn't book any of them. It was pretty inevitable that their diver-in-chief, their number 10, won the penalty when he fell down in the box when it was looking like 0-1 would be the score.

It was a disappointment for us, as the boys did really well and we looked more likely to score then they did.

A 1-0 win in the second leg, where we played some lovely football and had several chances to bury the Turkmens, was obviously not enough to repair the damage done in the away game.

I do have to give credit to their keeper though. He pulled off some lovely saves to keep us out. We scored the goal in the 76th minute and I feel that, had we scored 10 minutes earlier, we would have gone on to win the tie, as their players were totally shattered by this point.

And likewise, I have to offer a bit of rare praise to the referee in the second leg, who was from the UAE. Given that it was his first time in charge of an international, it took plenty of courage to book a player for diving.

As they did at home, the Turkmen players were diving all over the place in Goa. This time however the ref did his job. No prizes for guessing who it was that got booked - their theatrical Number 10

But we can't have too many complaints. Such is the way of football. They defended well and hung on to keep the score at 1-0 and they will now face Malaysia in the next round. We wish them luck - they're going to need it.

A rest is much needed as running both camps can be an exhausting business, although it remains as enjoyable as always.

I have a few local trips coming up. First, I'm off to Delhi to watch the final stages of the second division promotion race, before heading for Uttar Pradesh to see the U-21 tournament.

After that it is home to England where I begin my Pro Licence course, and then back to India as we prepare for the Milk Cup in Ireland with the U-18s. So things are as busy as ever.

I would also like to wish every one a very Happy Easter and as usual thank everyone who has offered kind words of support.

Best wishes